Regional policy 'the election issue’

Press, 28 July 1978, Page 4

Regional policy ' the election issue’

Regional degeneration had to be the biggest election issue for South Islanders, said the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association president I (Mr D. G. Sanders) last even- ' ing. ;'■■■ i “My personal vote will be 1 greatly influenced b- the best programme which is pre- 1 sented to the electorate to ' cure this cancer in our 1 society,” he told the association’s annual meeting. 1 Manufacturers had been 1 “virtually ignored” bv the ! Government and few of the 1 manufacturers’ proposals had ' been included in the last two * budgets, he said. Tn a wide-ranging speech, I Mr Sanders said that not < enough was done by the Gov- I emment to make the true ex- t porting picture known to the I public. i A major restructing of t the tax structure was needed, and companies should not ;

have to pay taxes if their Cash profit was less than that required “just to maintain their levels of activity.” The Government and local bodies should hold their tax demands to a rate less than annual inflation, by law if ■necessary. The wage order was "a disaster” that could lead to an extension of worker discontent into non-militant areas. Mr Sanders also said that transport policies “should be taken out of the political arena” by having them made by a permanent committee equally represented by both main political parties.

In a separate speech, the New Zealand Planning Council’s chairman (Sir Frank Holmes) said he was optimistic about moderate growth between now and 1983. but it would take hard work bv manufacturers to get there. Export volume needed to grow 5 per cent a vear. and

r the Planning Council thought t that only about 2 per cent i would come from traditional export industries. About 10 I per cent growth was needed : from non-traditional sections, i including manufacturing. “It is well above what you are now achieving,” Sir Frank said. One need was a “much more searching inquiry” into industries that seemed to need prolonged high Government protection to survive. Every region should have * a regional planning and de- * velopment policy in its own interest, he added.