N.Z. on verge of ‘undreamed’ expansion — P.M.

Press, 23 February 1980, Page 1

N.Z. on verge of ‘undreamed’ expansion — P.M.

New Zealand is poised for expansion on a scale undreamed of a decade or two ago, according to the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, in Christchurch last evening.

He outlined plans . for big expansion of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and tourism in the next 20 years. Agriculture would have a particularly vital role as an export-earner while New Zealand developed energy-based industries that would not give a return for some years, Mr Muldoon said.

He was speaking at the opening of the South Island Rotary District’s annual conference, in the Town Hall. Plans for New Zealand’s development in the next two decades included a 50 per cent increase in pastoral production, which would require a substantial increase in the allocation of development funds. “This requirement will come at a time when the energy development programme will be taxing our technical and financial resources,” Mr Muldoon said.

Other plans include a trebling of earnings from horticulture in 10 years; a trebling of wood exports in 20 years, with the establishment of big forest industries, mainly in the South Island; a rapid development of the fishing industry; and a doubling of earnings from tourism by 1988. These moves would be necessary to sustain and improve the economy while the country , waited for the huge energy projects to pay their own

way. Energy projects worth more than $2.5 billion would proceed in the next 10 years, most of them to be undertaken by private enterprise, Mr Muldoon said. In the immediate future, New Zealand could not expect to escape the effects of a world-wide recession, which would undoubtedly occur. However, as Minister of Finance, Mr Muldoon expected to take steps which would lift, rather than press down on, the economy. What measures he would take depended on events in the next few months; he said. Although the New Zealand economy would benefit from the accelerated spending on defence in the United States, Mr Muldoon said he had “no great regard” for an economic recovery that was. based on defence preparations. “I prefer, where we are concerned, that our recovery comes from the efficient and speedy use of our natural resources and assets,” he said. A 50 per cent increase in pastoral production was possible on present technology and established management practices, and in some areas this could be achieved in 10 years. On the basis of experience, an annual increase of between 3 per cent and 4 per cent was possible. The greatest restraint to growth was- the unwilling-

ness of many farmers to fit a development plan into their management system, Mr Muldoop said. Earnings from . the. pastoral industries in the year to June were, expected to amount to $3.7 billion, or almost 75 per cent of the. total value of exports. These could exceed $4 billion by the mid1980s if the growth of the mid-1960s could be achieved in the next few years, he said. Horticulture had taken “giant leaps” forward in recent years, taking their total export value to about $l5O million. The industry expected to earn at least $5OO million a. year within 10 years, said Mr Muldoon. “If cmly 20 per cent of land considered suitable for food crops is developed, earnings of $lOOO million or more a year may be achieved. Against that must be measured loss of production from ■land previously in general farming use.” Mr Muldoon said, that about 70,000 hectares were farmed in horticultural crops at present, yet the. amount of suitable land was probably 50 times that figure. He detailed even bigger developments in forestry in the ’ next 20 years; Significant new .forest industries would be set up. in Northland, RotoruaTaupo, Nelson, and OtagoSouthland, where there were sufficiently big wood

supplies to support these industries. The State owned most of the uncommitted new resource, which would become available in the 1980 s and 19905, he said. The volume of wood available for export was expected to treble by 1990 because of new exotic forest plantings in the last two decades. Forestry accounted for $229 million for the year ended June, 1979, or 7 per cent of total export earnings. The increase in wood supply could enable the establishment of up to seven new thermomechanical pulp mills and up to 48 new sawmills, Mr Muldoon said.. In the late 1980 s expansion of some industries might be possible and possibly a new sawmill could be established in the central North Island. One of the new thermomechanical pulp mills could be established in Otago-Southland in the late 19905, while a new sawmill could be established in the Nelson region in the early 19905. A further eight sawmills could be set up in the South Island in the late 1990 s with one jn Nelson, one . in Marlborough, two in North Canterbury, two in Otago, and two in Southland.

Studies showed that these new industries could be established earlier in the 1980 s rather than the 19905, Mr Muldoon said.