TYRE INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 131, 6 June 1938, Page 3

TYRE INDUSTRY

REPLY TO MINISTER

DANGER OF MONOPOLY

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

AUCKLAND, June 5.

"A statement by the Minister of In* dustries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) in regard to the tyre industry is not only discourteous and unjust, but it' indicates a feeling of annoyance on the part of the Minister which is entirely unwarranted," said Mr. A. G. Lunn, president of the New Zealand Associated Chambers of Commerce, in reply to the Minister's statement.

"The Minister stated that the Chambers of Commerce furiously oppose every proposal to establish manufacturing industries in New Zealand and have frightened themselves into a panic," said Mr. Lunn. "No statement by an important member of the Government could be further from the truth. I deny > any feeling of panic among our members and also deny that we oppose the institution of economic manufacturing industries in the Dominion. "The Minister referred to the chambers' use of the term monopoly as indicating the intentions of the Government, but said no such proposal has even been considered by the Government or by himself. Later in his statement the Minister said that the tyre industry has been licensed under the Industrial Efficiency Act because it would not be economic to allow more than one factory, or two at the most, to be run on economic lines, i "Surely," said Mr. Lunn, "this is instituting a monopoly, for, although the Minister repeats that neither he nor the Government has ever thought of prohibiting imports, one cannot imagine that any licensee would be able to compete with British tyre manufacturers unless under heavy tariff protection, which would increase prices to consumers and swell the continuallyincreasing cost of living. "I would remind the Minister that the Chambers of Commerce conserve not only the interests of the business community but also that of the consuming public, their interests being mutual, and all that we have requested in reference to tyre manufacturing in New Zealand is that the Government should seek the views of all those interested in this industry before giving consideration to the granting of a monopoly for tyre manufacturing in the Dominion. "The results of this action by the Government are so important and farreaching to the public as well as to those engaged in the industry that it is imperative that greater publicity should be given and fuller investigations should be made before taking so serious a step as has been done so quietly in the present case," Mr. Lunn concluded.