Look to Australia, says manufacturer

Press, 19 August 1981, Page 6

Look to Australia, says manufacturer

Canterbury manufacturers should looks?, to Australia rather than, the North Island as a market, said‘the retiring president ■ of .-’the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association. Mr W. B. Beaven, last evening. “I see the Australian market proving to be a more successful area for Canterbury manufacturers than the North Island and Auckland in particular,". Mr Beaven told the association’s annual meeting. Local industries based on engineering, rubber manufacture, and electrical goods could compete on equal terms with other New Zealand manufacturers oh the Australian market, but they were disadvantaged selling in the North Island, he said.

The degree of protection for New Zealand manufacturers; was the issue which

had most -troubled the association in the last year, Mr Beaven said, but if the C.E.R., negotiations ’ .were completed within the criteria laid down by the manufacturers’ federation, Canterbury manufacturers' would have a “golden (opportunity” in Australia. ' . The federation favours a gradual approach to economic union, and is.against the immediate dropping of tariffs protecting New Zealand products. South Island manufacturers’ . associations and Chambers of Commerce needed to speak "with one clear voice” for the development of the South Island’s natural resources, said Mr Beaven.

Only by developing those resources could industrial expansion, and the maintenance of New Zealand’s standard of living, be continued. Mr Heaven saw merit in the amalgamation of his association and the Canterbury Chamber of commerce, for that reason. .

The Canterbury association was worried about the Government’s talk of dropping export incentives. “We need the export incentives to. maintain employment and ensure a return on long-term investment,” said Mr Beaven. The Government also needed to ensure that workers put out of work by restructuring found permanent jobs elsewhere. . Liquefied petroleum gas could help South Island manufacturers stay competitive with their North Island counterparts as long as supply was guaranteed. “We have an assurance

that the supply will come on time, but considerable doubt whether the local authorities -■.who. are responsible for accepting the regulations: for L.P.G. installation will move fast enough,” Mr. Beaven said.

In the rfext year the association had to push for better relations with local trade unions, important resource development in the South Island, including the tourist industry, and promotion of Canterbury as a base for export to Australia, he said.

The guest speaker at the meeting was Professor M. H. Cooper. Professor Cooper, who is head of the department of economics at the University of Otago and president of the New Zealand Association of Economists, gave a lighthearted appraisal of the relative wealth and prosperity of New Zealanders compared with people in other developed countries. “The :real problem with the New Zealand economy is the belief that the New Zealand economy is a problem,” said Professor Cooper. An atmosphere of confidence had to be created through the rewarding of initiative, the promotion of the positive, and the support of those prepared to take risks, said Professor Cooper. Mr D. A. Bowron, general manager of G. L. Bowron, Ltd, was elected president of the association for 1981-82.

Mr T. G. Lyons, regional manager of Atex Harvey Industries, and Mr M. F. Woods, general manager of Cyclone Industries, Ltd, were elected vice-presidents of the association.