Tasman trade needs planning

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 11

Tasman trade needs planning

NZPA Melbourne The trans-Tasman trade could, wallow aimlessly unless there is more longterm planning, says the New Zealand Planning Council chairman, SitFrank Holmes. Without this planning, the potential of the 1965 New Zealand-Australia Free Trade Agreement could be lost, Sir Frank said. He was introducing his keynote address at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s conference on what Australian mangement can learn from the New Zealand experience. A more far-sighted trade approach would recognise that difficulties in both countries are temporary and consider joint action to solve them. Sir Frank told 250 post-gradu-ate management students. Such a programme would gradually reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation and development in overseas marketing. • Sir Frank said the N.A.F.T.A. agreement has not had greater momentum in the past partly because New Zealand feared

domination by Australia if trade was freed. "This reluctance to reduce protection strengthened Australian apathy towards the relationship,’’ he said. But Sir Frank said that recently the confidence of New Zealand manufacturers in their capacity to compete had grown appreciably. “Unfortunately the situation in Australia was not conducive to the progress that might have been made,” he siad. “High unemployment and the state of Australian manufacturing made Australian politicians reluctant to talk about more opportunities for New Zealand in the Australian market, especially when the New Zealand balance of payments situation did not. suggest any early relaxation of New Zealand's import controls.” Sir Frank said the net outcome of a large number of official negotiations between the two countries during the last five years has not represented much progress towards the freeing of trade and mutual co-operation in development between the two countries.