GOING TOO FAR?

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 97, 21 October 1932, Page 6

GOING TOO FAR?

SECONDAKY INDUSTRIES

MR. CONNOLLY'S VIEW

A vigorous plea for the secondary industries was mado by the Coalition Liberal member for Mid-Canterbury (Mr. J. Connolly) in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. Mr. Connolly said probably nothing very great had come from the Ottawa Conference. He could not see bow theDominion could prosper by primary production alone,' and consequently the country -would have to depend on the secondary industries to do their part. Mr. Connolly 'referred to a statement that secondary industries should not be .protected'after, infancy, and said it' might be -still advisable to protect industries already established. •He quite agreed that an investigation should be made into industries, because the general opinion was that some of them carried on uneconomically. Industries .could not bo protected and carried on if they were too big a tax on_ the people. Industries had been built up to some extent under protection, and perhaps it was advisable that protection should continue. He would like an assurance from the Minister of Public Works as to the future of the secondary industries.: Mr. Connolly said that when they saw that Britain was to be consulted about the establishment of secondary industries they wondered why. In the past they had been able to establish their secondary industries without interference. As a self-governing Dominion New Zealand should have the right to do as she wished so far as her secondary industries were concerned. It, looked'as if Britain realised that it was absolutely essential that she should have some market for her goods and, if necessary, the Dominions must struggle in the meantime. It was possible to go a little bit too far. They knew that they were dependent to a certain extent on Great Britain, but there was always a possibility of a father calling on his sons and daughters to do too much. He sincerely hoped and trusted that the secondary industries were not going to be sacrificed as a result of 'the Ottawa Conference.