STATE INTERFERENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 103, 28 October 1932, Page 5

STATE INTERFERENCE

DETRIMENTAL EFFECT

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

The contention that State interference in business was having a detri- • mental effect on the economic condi- ■ tions of the Dominion was made by Mr. •H. M. Campbell (Government, Hawkes Bay) in the House of Representatives < yesterday afternoon. .-.'-. Mr. Campbell said that a request had '■ been made that the " wheat industry ■ should be p"iit on an equitable basis, and ;. he agreed that this should be done, but the only way to carry this out was to lift the duties. The price of wheat should be regulated by the world price ;in the same way as the prices for the - other primary products were. As a result of State interference, '. State enterprise, and. State tinkering , money was being driven out of industry, and that was the reason for the rise in the bank deposits. The banks were the only safe place for the investment of money. The Order-in-Council relating to the construction of picture thea- < tres and the school books contract had . caused so . much discussion that both ■ matters should be referred to a tri- , tranal or a Select Committee of the House. "Both matters should be in- • quired into," said Mr. Campbell, "in order that the mind of the public should be gut at rest. I think that in common fairness to those who support the Government, the whole matter ,'should be cleared up." - He said that as the result of the '.Order-in-Council relating to picture theatres the construction of a picture theatre in Hastings had been held up for eighteen months. The erection of this building would have^ given employment to 45 tradesmen for four or five months, and this aspect of the question was an important one in view of the fact that in Hastings there were 900 .unemployed, including 700 tradesmen. On the "one hand the Government was urging private individuals to set the wheels of industry going, and on the other hand it was preventing the operations of enterprise. "These men arc being kept out of work, which would be available if only the Government would allow it to proceed," said Mr. Campbell. "I appeal to the Government to use a little common-sense and allow business to carry on. STATE ADVANCES. "To my mind the whole of Government enterprise in' various trading .activities has had a disastrous effect," 'continued Mr. Campbell. "Even in probably the most profitable one, the State Advances Department, there was no money available at the present time. Kot a cent can be borrowed by anybpdy from the State Advances, and there is no money available from' any , other source. Before the State Ad.vances started British companies were prepared to lend money at a low rate — \as low as 4 per cent, in some cases. I .had some of it myself. . As soon as the State Advances started these men went outs They objected to competition .from the State. ..The result is that we have to depend on one institution for money, and when that office gets into difficulties we have no one to fall back on. We are left high and dry." Mr. Campbell, said that the operations of t the Meat; Export Board were another. form of- interference. . The board had set out to regulate meat shipments to England and see that the marketing of the Dominion's produce was regular. These intentions had not been carried out, and the actions of the Meat Board had been mainly responsible for the collapse of the Home market. - It has-been, stated that the European pork industry was to blame, but the action of the board had swamped the English market. During the month of May eighteen shipments fit meat had arrived in London from 2\ew ;Zealand, and another ten had arrived during the first eleven days in June. The result had been that the market collapsed. The board had purchased a site in London which, was worthless for the purpose it had been intended for, and there was little doubt that the work of. the board had not furthered the interests" of the producers. TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT. Mr. Campbell criticised the operations of the Transport Department, and said that the result of its policy had been to kill enterprise. When one town in his constituency had applied for permission to run a taxi service, it had been told by the Commissioner of Transport that, if he could not prevent them.at present, he would see that the necessary legislation was,introduced to do so. Mr. Campbell s.aid that in view of this statement he was entitled to ask whether the Government or the heads of Departments were running the country.