Design Council fights cuts

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34151, 12 May 1976, Page 1

Design Council fights cuts

(From

OLIVER RIDDELL)

WELLINGTON. May 11. A cut of more than 50 per cent in the proposed Government grant to the Industrial Design Council may well mean that its activities in the South Island will stop, and its office in Christchurch close.

As part of the Government’s economy measures, it has been proposed that the grant to the council be reIduced from $213,000 to | $lOO,OOO, but no final decision (will be made until the council [has completed its representations to the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr AdamsSchneider). As present salaries alone cost the council about $120,000 a year, a cut of this

magnitude is likely to entail a 50 per cent reduction in staff — from 16 to eight — and the closing of its Christchurch office. “There is still some doubt about the magnitude of the cuts, and the Minister has asked for a report on their likely effect,” said the council’s director (Mr G. Nees) in Wellington today. “Although the Government grant is not our only source of income, it provides the vast bulk of it, and a cut on this scale would reduce our activities -considerably.” The council is an advisory body, set up by the Industrial Design Act. 1966, which employs field officers to assist manufacturers with design problems in production and manufacture.

“The proposed cuts would knock out half of our field advisory capacity, and the South Island would probably

have to be forgotten about in the meantime,” he said. “It is a short-term measure which would have long-term effects. “No time scale has been set, but it is in our interest to make our case to the Minister as quickly as possible.” Although the council would try to continue to provide some service to the South Island, it would be “optimistic” to think that the South Island’s problems could be coped with effectively. At the moment, there was only one full-time field advisor in the South Island, based in Christchurch, but headquarters staff went down from time to time.

All the members of the council’s directorate are appointed by the Government, except for three permanent heads of Government departments named in the act. The council has little capacity to earn any income apart from

what it receives from the Government. One casualty would probably be the council’s magazine. “Signscape.” which increased its circulation by 40 per cent last year (from 2400 to 3500) and which is a “subscription only” publication. The magazine is a cost to the council, although increasing circulation and advertising content have brought it near to the point of making a profit; and cuts in its budget w’ould take it back to its 1970 level, when it first became established. The council is concerned that six years of progress could be wiped out. “The proposed cuts would affect the council’s performance in all areas, including staff morale.” Mr Nees said. “The council could continue to work on a budget of $lOO,OOO, but at a very low 1 level.”