Cheap imports

Press, 12 June 1989, Page 20

Cheap imports

Sir, —Once again we see further results of the Government’s so-called “free market” — Lichfield’s garment factory closing its doors, allowing further cheap imports of clothes into this country from slave-labour countries such aas Taiwan and Fiji. We have seen the results in the shoe trade where you cannot buy a decent pair of shoes at a reasonable price, only cheap rubbish from countries such as Taiwan and from South America. This Labour Government must believe in slave labour, otherwise it would not trade with such countries, but we all know the tax it is raking in on these imports. Where are the union leaders? Why are they not attempting to halt all these imports and keep our industry here in New Zealand? It seems they have all got their heads buried in the sand.— Yours, etc., B. THEOBALD. June 5, 1989.

Sir, — Further to your report about the closing down of Lichfield (N.Z.), Ltd (June 3), Mr Palmer and his Cabinet colleagues are still in dreamland if they think that a 40 per cent tariff on imported clothing will provide any sort of protection for this industry. Even a primary school child knows that 40 per cent of $3O a month (Chinese wages) does not equal $l2OO per month (N.Z. wages). All this Government is doing is making a lot of Asians very rich at the expense of a decline in living standards for all New Zealanders. — Yours, etc.,

M. A. VICTOR June 6, -1989.