CLOTHING PRICES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 76, 27 September 1944, Page 7

CLOTHING PRICES

CRITICISM OF SUBSIDIES

Many questions have been levelled at the Minister, and many of them he has not answered," said Mr. F W Doidge (National, Taurafnga) in' the' House of Representatives last night when t!he Estimates of the Department of Industries and Commerce were under discussion. He declared that there was much discontent throughout the country at the high prices prevailing, especially for clothing.

There were so many things at a high price that affected the lives of the people that they would not be put off by the Minister's statement that the war was the answer. Muddling and inefficiency were the main causes of the trouble. Servicemen returning from overseas were astounded at the prices of clothing and footwear. Mr. Doidge said the Government's methods of price control "were unsound. It was now proposed to subsidise clothing manufacturers to keep prices down. Subsidising to stabilise prices meant paying twice over. It was a bad method. The Minister was always promising improvement, but it never happened. The Minister of Industries and Commerce. (Mr. Sullivan) said that costs had been rising for materials obtained from the United Kingdom. Great Britain had had to institute subsidies to the extent of £195,000,000. New Zealand had followed suit just as Australia and other countries had done. It was essential to keep prices down to a reasonable level. The Price Tribunal and the stabilisation policy had been worth while and prices had been kept down fairly well. He had heard a member say that the price of a suit was £20. He hinted that prices of suits would be down before long, and that even now prices were coming down for the cheaper class of suit,