TRADE IN TRADE "ECONOMIC NATIONALISM"

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 112, 7 November 1935, Page 23

TRADE IN TRADE "ECONOMIC NATIONALISM"

AID Tfo ' DEVELOPMENT .

The world, trend towards economic nationalism, or as it is sometimes termed, the "new balanced economy," wa« the subject of an address by Mr. "J. Harnett', managing director of General Motors-Holdens, Ltd., in Australia, to representatives and friends of the company yesterday.' Mr. McHardy Forman, managing director of General Motors in New Zealand, introduced the speaker. l In Australia, v said Mr. Harnett, appreciation of plans to achieve betterbalanced economy was keen. > The expression "economic'nationalism" seemed at first to strike a note of restriction,- suppression, and even retardation, of national trade and development, more particularly when applied to countries almost entirely dependent upon primary products. Fortunately "economic nationalism" has a trend or influence at work, and was not likely to bring about sudden, drastic change's. As Mr. Elliott, the Minister of Agriculture in the United -Kingdom, recently ssid, it might finally lead to a better state of affairs than nations being almost entirely dependent one upon another. v ' Dealing with the effectiveness of th« weapon of blockade in wartime, Mr. Harnett said that practically every European nation realised its dependence on outside foodstuffs. It appeared that the old doctrine of -certain countries being large farms and supplying , foodstuffs to another nation which took the role of the workshop or factory,for the ocrs would have to give way to this ncr/ scheme of things by which adjustments would take place to enable each country to be reasonably self-sufficient or selfsupporting. CASE IN POINT IN N.Z. With regard. to Australia and Nevr Zealand this trend would in the course of time mean building up the secondary industries, and though the day was distant when New Zealand couid supply all her requirements in 'manufactured goods, he felt^hat the Australian policy should be adopted here. As much as was practicable in the motor-car industry should be manufactured here. In Australia General Mo-tors-Holdens wfere probably one of tha largest industrial undertakings, employing some 8000 people, and they were just about to start on their new factory, entailing an expenditure of £400,000, in Melbourne. The present conditions under which General Motors operated in New Zealand should be gratifying by reason of the fact that over sOO.New;Zealanders were employed at ;the. Petohe lactory and a large sum of money was paid each year to local : New Zealand suppliers and .manufacturers for materials and equipment which were built into the cars as sold.in.New.;Zealand. Such secondary industries attached an influx of skilled and semi-skilled'work-ers that increased the:population'without artificially stimulating migration for land settlement. "Therefore," concluded Mr. Harnett, "this; new; 'balanced* economy' or . 'economic nationalism' seems to hold great hopes for the development of Australia and New Zealand rather than being likely to depress thenvunder the headings of a need for greater.population, greater home consumption capacity of primary products, less dependence on overseas countries, and also : better opportunity for utilising the brains of the coming generation by spreading activities within the country over a wider sphere of interests."