M.P. claims exporters ripped off

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 1

M.P. claims exporters ripped off

By

GLEN PERKINSON

Criticism of red tape by the Minister of External Relations and Trade, Mr Moore, has prompted accusations that his own department is “ripping off” exporters and frustrating marketing efforts.

The Opposition’s spokesman on trade and industry, Mr Philip Burdon, said that exporters had complained to him of the “inefficient and ineffective” Trade Development Board.

Mr Burdon cited two cases where exporters had been charged high costs for overseas trade services. Overseas trade commissions are now administered by the recently established board. Although heavily influenced by the private sector, it is still within Mr Moore’s portfolio.

Mr Burdon said one company seeking potential importers in Vancouver, Canada, was charged $BOO for a list of. prospective clients.

Later the list was found to be a copy of a local trade directory.

Mr Burdon also cited the case of an exporter trading in Iran. Help was sought from New Zealand’s commission there. The office quoted its services at $l2OO a day. After “several weeks of negotiation,” Mr Burdon said, the charge was knocked down to $4OO a day. Mr Burdon said the blame lay with the user-pays principle. The

board was a “parasitic bureaucracy living off the exporter when it should be assisting it.” Mr Moore responded to Mr Burdon’s claims by saying the board was a lean, efficient body doing its best for Kiwi exporters.

The Minister lashed out on Wednesday at red tape hindering the country’s enterprise and costing jobs, after intervening in a tangle between an export awardwinning company having problems with Ministry of Transport officials. Mr Moore said the incident was “a classic example of how bureaucrats treat enterprising businesses — silly rules, red tape and lack of an enterprise culture that is costing New Zealand the most jobs.” Yesterday he said he had been inundated with complaints about other central and local government departments from “angry and frustrated business people” since he made his comments. He said the New Zealand cliche, “she’ll be right,” would not be right when more than 100,000 people were unemployed and living standards "are at the bottom of the O.E.C.D. heap.” He said the trade board would

be a vehicle that would work to clear the “self-imposed road blocks that have tortured enterprise and stolen jobs, profit and hope from the economy.”

But Mr Burdon said it w'as that body which was making it difficult for the enterprises expected to drag the economy from the mire.

“Mr Moore is ill-equipped to criticise other departments when his is emerging as the worst bungler. With the board he has established a new bureaucracy.”

He also accused the board of ignoring small innovative exporters and dealing only with larger business.

“It is becoming rarified and extravagant. When it should be assisting, it is destroying,” he said.

The department which incurred Mr Moore’s wrath says it is “absolutely appalled” that a manufacturing company had to call for Mr Moore’s help.

The Ministry of Transport’s land transport manager, Mr Tim Sanger, yesterday agreed with the Minister that Government departments should welcome business people and do their best to assist them.