CRITICISM BY M.P.

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32395, 7 September 1970, Page 10

CRITICISM BY M.P.

Economic Report

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, Sept. 4. Surprise at the conclusions reached in the report on regional development of the Institute of Economic Research, was expressed today by Mr T. M. McGuigan (Lab., Lyttelton).

“How could a report that took over a year to prepare offer as its main conclusion the observation that the Government should do nothing to correct the present imbalances in New Zealand’s growth-rate?” he asked. “It’s quite obvious, from reading the report, that the author has constructed a theoretical model in economics. The institute should remember that, when we talk about decentralisation of industry, we are talking about people and jobs, not compu-ter-runs and profits. “Balanced economic growth in New Zealand has to take social factors into account, but this report has dismissed them out of hand. In fact, it specifically recommends that the Government should ignore those factors—they are a ‘danger.’ They may be dangerous to his economic model, but they’re the things that affect all of us.” It was quite clear that New Zealand was going through a period of unbalanced growth and that this imbalance was growing at a faster rate all the time. We need balanced growth, or the inevitable re-sult-depressed areas—would occur, said Mr McGuigan. “This report cuts right across the concept of a planned development, a concept the Government has now adopted after the Labour Party has been advocating it for years,” he said.