NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

Evening Star, Issue 19762, 12 January 1928, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

AUSTRALIA WANTS HIGHER DUTY

REVISION OF TRADE TREATY URGED.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

SYDNEY, January 12. (Received January 12, at J0..15 a.m.) Dr -Earle Page (Federal Treasurer), in an address on the Goveruincnt’s policy .in regard to the dairying industry at Turwillumbah, in referring to the reciprocal trade agreement between Australia and Now Zealand, pointed out that six mouths’ notice was necessary before a variation could become effective. Recently New Zealand had'desired to increase the duty on flour by Cl pel- ton, and the Commonwealth had raised no objection, yet when Australia wanted to increase the duty on New Zealand butter there was an outburst from the dominion. He suggested that a representative of the Federal Government should bo sent to Now Zealand to revise the whole treaty and sec if the butter duty could not be settled without delay. New Zealand dairymen, ho said, were not benefitting by the exports to Australia, but only the speculators. Many countries where the standard of living was much lower than Australia, were going in for dairying, and in order to compete against them Australia would have to reduce her manufacturing cost to a minimum. The meeting passed a resolution requesting the Federal Government to approach the New Zealand Government, asking for a revision of the whole trade agreement, with r.iio object of bringing an increase of the duty on butter into operation as soon as possible, also asking that a representative of the Federal Government be sent to Now Zealand for the pnr’joso of having the matter dealt with at the earliest moment.

Dr Earle Page said that in Australia £125,000,000 represented the capiai divested in. the development and erpupment of dairy farms. They had an annual production of £15*000,000, of wl ich £30.000,000 was for' mil.'i products. Butter and cheese factories represented a capita! outlay of £4,250*000. Their average annua! production was valued at nearly £23,.>'X1,000. There wore approximately 500,000 persons and hundreds of towns entirely dependent upon the industry. Directly or indirectly 1,000,000 persons in Australia depended for their livelihood updti llif dairying industry.