Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3rd., 1934. N.Z. AND AUSTRALIA.

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 December 1934, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3rd., 1934. N.Z. AND AUSTRALIA.

the relations between New Zealand and Australia, is best started, to-day, by an expression of sincere sympathy from all in the Dominion for the victims of the storms in Victoria. The loss of life has been serious, and the property damage enormous, and coming at a period when the State is celebrating its centenary, this is doubly unfortunate. “Sunny Victoria” has belied its reputation during much of the recent festivities, marring the pleasure of thousands, and preventing the carnival organisers obtaining duo financial reward for their labours. These storms culminated, last week, in the ivorst rainfall and gale experienced for many years, with disastrous consequences to thousands. It is to be hoped that the earlier reports of the damage inflicted will prove to be exaggerated, but it is clear that Victoria has suffered a hard knock.

There will be also regret in the Dominion that the conference between Ministerial representatives of the Commonwealth, and New Zealand, regarding inter-trade relations, ended in failure. Early, last month, when Messrs Coates and Masters were about to embark for Sydney, it was stated in this column:—“Unless there is real goodwill and a willingness to compromise, the forthcoming discussions will not bear much harvest. The difficulty is that the respective interests clash so often. Farmers

in the one country resent imports of produce from the other, owing to the effect on prices, and this is a difficulty not easily surmounted.” This prediction has proved to be too true, and more N.Z. money has been spent to no good national purpose.

Australia has been unfortunate of late, through its tariff and embargo policy, with other countries apart from’New Zealand. Lancashire resented the impost of cottongoods duties, and threatened to retaliate, if these were not lowered. Belgium,, when the entry of her glass goods was made more diffi-

cult, took prompt counter-measures against Australian produce, with the consequence that concessions were soon forthcoming, Australian Ministers then telling the world that one glass company in Australia had been grossly profiteering. Why this discovery was not- made earlier, is difficult to understand. The deadlock with New Zealand is mainly due to the potato embargo, the Australian Government’s policy being to make the people pay extremely high prices for Tasmanian and Victorian potatoes, rather than let New Zealand-grown enter at reasonable rates. The Australian farmers are entitled to a degree of protection, but where New Zealand produce is concerned, their demands appeal unreasonable. The breakdown of the Canberra conference will not add to, the desire of New Zealand to trade' with Australia, although it would

be foolish to copy the Commonwealth’s bad example out of chagrin. .