V.Z.’s VALUE AS MARKET P.M. hits at industrialists

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32588, 23 April 1971, Page 1

V.Z.’s VALUE AS MARKET P.M. hits at industrialists

(From GARRY ARTHUR, London correspondent of "The Press")

LONDON, April 22.

Sir Keith Holyoake aimed a shaft directly at the profits of British industrialists, while speaking at a civic dinner in Birmingham.

He told the representatives of the Midlands that it was in the interests of their bank balances to make sure New Zealand remained a good proposition for trade and investment, irrespective of whether Britain went into the E.E.C.

Last year, said the Prime Minister, New Zealand bought nearly s3oom worth of British merchandise per head of population, New Zealand was about Britain’s best foreign customer.

Britain was also New Zealand’s major source of im-

ports, providing more than 30 per cent of the total. In addition, much of New Zealand's imports were for manufacturing for the New Zealand market and for export to Pacific and Asian markets.

“We export more to you,” Sir Keith Holyoake said “but you make the deficit up in the so-called invisibles. Last year we paid out almost s4om in income from yout investments in New Zealand. British banking and insurance interests in New Zealand are substantial, and you have a very large stake in our manufacturing sectors. Wider market “It’s not only a stake in New Zealand but a foothold in the rapidly expanding markets of the Pacific basin. If Britain joins the E.E.C., commercial activities and other economic involvement in our region will remain very important.

“There is every reason why your stake in New Zealand, even after the realignment which would result from your entry into the E.E.C., should be a most useful instrument of Britain’s economic growth, to your benefit and ours.”

Sir Keith Holyoake said there was no reason why the the relationship should not continue to be fruitful for as long as could be seen. “We are not afraid of change," he said, “and surely no country with such a long history of successful adaption and experiment need fear

it either—l mean the change that may come about with or without the Common Market.”

Products known

Noting that a Birmingham sales mission was about to go to New Zealand, the Prime Minister said the New Zealand market was still predisposed to choosing the products' it knew, and trusted. These products were by and large British, many of them made in Birmingham.

Sir Keith Holyoake said he thought most New Zealanders of British origin had come from the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland. Perhaps that was where New Zealanders got their vigour and the practical good sense of which they prided themselves.

Midlanders also had a reputation for hard headedness which was a very necessary quality for those who built New Zealand. It was just ts necessary as their capacity and ability to improvise which they brought with them.

Sir Keith Holyoake said he had been assured that Birmingham was very sympathetic towards New Zealand’s need for special arrangements in the event of British entry to the E.E.C.

Own advantage

‘Td like to think,” he said, “that that came from your hard-headed approach to the realities of economic life, and from your knowledge of the fact that New Zealand gives British goods a very special rate of preference in our market.” It was not just a question of ties of sentiment and comradeship, said the Prime Minister.