“STUDIED EVASION OF ISSUES”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22623, 28 April 1948, Page 6

“STUDIED EVASION OF ISSUES”

MR. NASH ATTACKED

POLICY “CUTS UNWARRANTED” ACTIONS NOT RELISHED (P.A ) WELLINGTON, April 27. “The deputation from various organisations which waited on tiie .Minister of Customs, Mr TV. Nash, on Friday to ask for information and explanations regarding the severe and unwarranted cuts imposed by the Government on imports from tiie United Kingdom met witii a studied evasion of the issues,” said the president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand, Mr. J. R. Dench. No Reference To Letter Mr. Dench said his organisation had written to Mr. Nash on April 19 seeking details. “Mr Nash received and dealt with the deputation of other organisations on April 23 as it iw uau not received such a communication or had the issue placed betore him by tire letter. “In view of Die public statements made on Friday's deputation involving my association to wnich we necessarily need to reply, we communicated urgently with Mr. Nash yesterday asking if he proposed to supply the information for which we had asked. As we have received no answer we are forced to comment puoucly.” The statement said Mr. Nash at the deputation had discounted the accuracy of tiie Associated Chambers’ figure of .£:44,000.000 as the estimated value of New Zealand’s 1948 exports. Authoritative Estimate

“My association reaffirms this estimate, which comes from a highly authoritative source. It is not the job of the commercial community to divine on what figures the Government is working. but we have stated what we believe to be a true and proper figure and it must stand unless Mr. Nash can upset it by the production of a different figure showing individual amounts for the estimated 1948 export values of our meat, dairy produce, wool, etc.” The statement, after pointing out that Mr. Nash while throwing doubt on the accuracy of the association's figure did not say it was wrong, asked by what legerdemain could Mr. Nash proceed to argue that private imports must be heavily cut on last year's figures. Mr. Dench's statement reiterated the association’s viewpoint that the extent of the present import cuts was dictated not by the United Kingdom Government but by Mr. Nash, who was using the pruning knife in excess of the needs of the situation in order to reserve enough of New Zealand’s current export receipts for satisfying his determination to meet out of current income an optional repayment of a New Zealand loan in London of £24,000,000. Repayment From Balances Not Income “No wonder 1948 imports are cut. If the loan is to be repaid, let repayment be made from our accumulated sterling balances, and not from our current export earnings, which is to the detriment of our current imports,” the statement added. “Also, if Mr. Nash is following his import budgeting system in the way he is reported to have explained it at Havana, then he is holding another £10,000,000 against contingencies, which is not being allocated to imports. ”If £10,000,000 is being held back by Mr. Nash to offset a possible fall in our 1948 export values due to a change of weather affecting the estimated volume of our exports, we do not suggest that is not a prudent course, but there is a proprietary air about the control of export and import operations of this country which is neither relished nor justified ” The statement said the commercial community, the people and the press were entitled to the fullest account by the Government of its handling of the trade which was the life-blood of New Zealand, and until this was done the association’s contentions regarding unjustifiable cuts on such evidence as was available were fully justified.