WHAT M.P.s WERE SAYING ‘Minister of Rocketing Prices’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33966, 6 October 1975, Page 2

WHAT M.P.s WERE SAYING ‘Minister of Rocketing Prices’

(From

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY)

WELLINGTON, October 5. A charge that the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer) had done nothing to contain costs of consumer goods was made by Mr R. L. G. Talbot (Nat., South Canterbury) during the last night of discussion of the main Estimates last Thursday.

"The Minister of Rocketing Prices introduced the M.R.P. scheme,” Mr Talbot said. “He was also the Minister of Rocketing Wheat Imports.” Figures given to the Public Expenditure Committee showed that up to the year ending January 31, 1976, 47.5 per cent of milling wheat would have to be imported.

‘ As chairman of the New Zealand Wheat Board during a period of record wheat prices in the world, the Minister has fallen down on his job. The National Government had been working towards self-sufficiency in wheat. . . ”

Mr A. W. Begg (Lab., Awarua): “But it never moved the price in 10 years.” Mr Talbot: “During 1972-3 New Zealand did not import a bushel of wheat. From 1971 to 1973, New Zealand imported only $2.9m worth of wheat and sl.6m worth of other grains. But from 1973

to 1975, under Labour, wheat imports amounted to s29m and other grains to just over slom. This could be ssom spent on grains in three years.

“If there had been an adequate price, sufficient wheat would have been grown during the last three years,” Mr Talbot said. “The Government ignored every Wheat Board recommendation for an increased price. Now there is a contract system — a blackmail system.” The other side The Under-Secretary for Agriculture (Mr B. G. Barclay, Lab., Christchurch Central) said it was about time the consumers of bread understood the facts. "Self-sufficiency in wheat was in sight under the National Government,” Mr Barclay said, "But that Government moved to reduce the price paid to wheatgrowers. Now, as a result of the Labour Government’s raising the price, wheat sowings have increased in Canterbury and Southland." The last price the National Government had paid, Mr Barclay said, had been $1.55 a bushel. The price for the 1975-76 season was $2.80 a bushel—an increase of nearly 80 per cent. Increased sowings of other grain had been made, and there was a prospect of exportable surpluses of barley and maize.

“Under the National Government, farmers were paid about 80c a bushel for barley,” Mr Barclay said. “For the current season the price

is $l.BO a bushel. Cropping farmers appreciate the realistic prices being paid, and are increasing their production.’’ A pauper State? When Mr K. M. Comber (Nat., Wellington Central) described New Zealand as “a pauper of the Western world,” Mr P. Blanchfield (Lab., West Coast) objected strongly: “He complains that the price of porridge has gone up, but has overlooked the fact that the price paid to growers for wheat has also increased.”

He congratulated Mr Freer on the action he had taken to stave off unemployment by finding new projects to provide work and find new products and exports. Without these, New Zealand would be really badly off. “The possibility of a petrochemical industry must not be neglected,” Mr Blanchfield said. “Match splints, or matchsticks, are now being processed experimentally from beech, whereas for many years our match companies had been using imported splints. In Grafton (Australia) good results have been obtained from using New Zealand beech. These could be processed right there at Reefton.” He mentioned the successful experiments in Victoria in producing oil from coal. Had the Minister considered sending some experts to Victoria to see the process, with an idea of starting something similar on the West Coast?

Mr Blanchfield said that large quantities of coking coal were going to waste, and would continue doing so unless they were sold to the Japanese. Would the Minister consider establishing a coalcoking plant on the West Coast? Some 4000 tonnes of coke were used in New Zealand foundries already, and he was sure there were export prospects for the rest of the 20,000 tonnes which would have to be produced to make the use of the processing machinery economic. Bonds on industry Mr E. S. F. Holland (Nat., Riccarton) made a strong attack on Mr Freer and his commercial policies. “No doubt the Minister and some of his Left-wing colleagues envisaged the scheme providing consumer protection,” he said. “But this merely shows their abysmal ignorance of trade and industry and commercial practice. If the Commerce Bill and the M.R.P. scheme are taken in tandem, one perceives what the Government is endeavouring to do — to tie up private industry in such a tight knot that it has no freedom at all.” Mr Holland suggested that this, together with the doctrine of absorptive capacity, indicated that the Labour Government had no love of or trust in the businessman. Government members did not believe in free enterprise or in people being successful — they

wanted State domination of trade, industry, and commerce. Private schools A charge that the Opposition had reserved its position on the Private Schools Conditional Integration Bill was made on Friday morning by Mr T. K. Burke (Lab., Rangiora) when the bill was returned to Parliament by the Education Committee.

“This was made plain in the committee for some time,” Mr Burke said. "Concerning others of the amendments which came forward, the committee heard that the Opposition did not oppose them, and had agreed to some. By and large, however, the Opposition has reserved its position. The community will be looking forward anxiously next week to hearing what the Opposition’s position is.” Mr Burke suggested that the only criticism of the bill so far offered by the Opposition related to the speed with which it was being dealt with. It had forgotten that the measure was the culmination of almost three years work, and of a great deal of discussion and negotiation between the Government, State and private educational organisations, and other interested parties.

"I believe that another year would not have led to considerable lessening of polarisation,” Mr Burke said. "The bill will create a new situation, around which new views can be formed.”