Halting the drift to the north

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32981, 29 July 1972, Page 11

Halting the drift to the north

(By

G. A. POLLOCK)

Once again there are reports and rumours of large industries, long established in the South Island, transferring their activities to Auckland or elsewhere in the north; once again come dark forebodings as to the future of the south, and demands that somebody—usually the Government —do something about it.

It is only natural that manufacturers, faced with ever - increasing transport costs, should find themselves tempted to move nearer to the larger centres where their main markets lie; a temptation that grows in proportion to the spiralling unbalance of population. This northward drift is no new thing; all this century families and firms alike have heeded the siren song, so that many enterprises that started boldly and successfully in Christchurch, or in still greater degree Dunedin, now find themselves based in Wellington or beyond. To say that the call is to the sun is but to state a half truth. Auckland’s climate, though admittedly milder than ours, is not necessarily more pleasant or salubrious, while he would be rash who made any extravagant claims for Wellington weather. The truth is that the alleged coldness of the south is purely a matter of relativity; denizens of Glasgow, Birmingham or even London would regard our lot as Elysian. Snowball growth The main reasons for Northern preponderance lie

elsewhere. Auckland, as the nearest port to Europe and America, gained commercial k supremacy in an age when such considerations were meaningful. Wellington, on the other hand, has to thank its administrative role; its main industry is government, both public and commercial. Once started, the drift needed no further encouragement; as a snowball gains weight and momentum on . its downward plunge, so does a thriving populous centre ever increase its rate of growth. No wonder, then, that many South Island manufacturers find themselves in a high state of frustration, particularly as they count the added cost of inter-island freight; a cost for which there is no known remedy, for it would be ludicrous to expect the northern threequarters of the public to subsidise its rivals in the remaining sector. But notwithstanding such handicaps, we might well ask whether southern wounds, though grievous enough, are not largely self-inflicted—-whether the south could be suffering not so much from isolation or Government neglect as from a state of mind. Consider our trans-

Tasman trade: one would think New Zealand manufacturers, faced with far greater problems of distance, could never compete. Yet compete they do, with surprising success—by concentrating onf the things we do best. Lesson for south Surely here is a lesson for our southern industrialists. Let them regard the North Island as another Australia, Cook Strait as a minor Tasman Sea; then take a long hard look at what they are trying to do. They have many advantages — good cheap land, an abundance of unpolluted water, and, above all, a more stable labour force. Rather than competing with the whole spectrum of North Island industry, let them aim to use local resources; bringing raw materials from the north, processing them and shipping them back, solves no problems—it merely doubles them. The south will never save itself by mere slavish imitation; only by exploiting its own heritage, its own unique individuality, can it hope to hold its place. So here’s success to imagination and a South Island export drive.