N.Z. devaluation 'unnecessary'

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 18

N.Z. devaluation 'unnecessary'

The recent devaluation of the New Zealand dollar, after that of the Australian dollar, had not been immediately necessary, said the president of the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce (Mr L. A. Cameron) yesterday.

Though he was not “desperately unhappy’’ about the devaluation, it wpjs a way of avoiding the "blunt truth” that productivity was too low, said Mr Cameron, who is a director of the Gear Meat Company in Wellington.

“The primary sector in this country could have 'withstood the situation for longer, even with Australia having a new competitive edge over us,” he said. “The dairy industry, for example, was already quoting mainly in foreign currency, and has not altered its prices. “This means devaluation is not getting us into any new markets, and is not selling any more produce ... In the long run, because it will add to our internal inflation and make us that much less efficient producers, it will make us even less competitive.” The basic, inescapable point was that New Zealand had to increase productivity. “When I talk about increasing productivity, I don t mean just making the worker work harder, said Mr Cameron. “Employers and the Government also have a responsibility to ensure that the climate is right for higher productivity. We have to look harder at the way we use our labour,

and the way industries are managed?’.