SECONDARY INDUSTRIES.

Grey River Argus, 22 July 1926, Page 8

SECONDARY INDUSTRIES.

PLEA FOR DEVELOPMENT. Speaking on the Budget, Mr. H. E. Holland (Leader of" the Opposition) said:— Mi’. Speaker, I want to make a plea for the development of secondary industries in New.. Zealand. I cannot find in the Budget any suggestion that the Government intend to move in the direction of developing our secondary industries, and I want to put it to the House that with thriving secondary industries we strengthen the primary industries, for every extra thousand who are permanently erft ployed in. secondary, industries provides an additional permanent market for the primary products. MORE SELF-CONTAINED. We should aim at a policy that will make the country more self-contained than it is at the .present time. The hon. the Postmaster-General by interjection the other day suggested that what has ruined England was freetrade.

Mr. ''fJosworthy: I said that with regard to the agricultural outlook. Mr. Holland: Well what I want to ask him was whether he was in favour of England putting up a protectionist, wall against the primary products of New Zealand?

Mr. Nosworthy: I said the same thing the other day. Mr. Holland: The hon. gentleman . will be able to answer that when he is , answering me. FACE THE FACTS. We on these benches do not make either free-trade or protection an absolute policy. W e say that we have got to face the facts as we find them. There are* industries in this country' that have grown Up under a certain system and which cannot exist without protective measures. I would add that w e should insist that' the indus tries to be developed here must be industries that are economically suited to the country. On a previous occasion I pointed out that we occasionally start industries unsuited to the country and we impose new burdens on th o whole country by reason of such enterprises. NOT PROTECTIVE. To those industries that are already her e and that cannot live without proteoction let us by all means give protection; but let me suggest that a tariff that produces revenue is not a protective tariff. So long as it produces revenue it does not protect. Then, on the other hand, we are collecting Customs duties on a number of items that ought to be coming in free. There ar© goods which can be profitably produced in New Zealand, and we should establish the conditions under which they can be produced. The goods which cannot be produced in New Zealand we should admit free. Let me draw the attention of honour able members to the position with respect to our secondary industries and one or two primary industries as well. THE TIMBER INDUSTRY. I will take , the timber industry first. We are bringing into,this country annually timber to the value of well over £1,000,000. The value of our total production of timber in New Zealand is about £5,500,000 per annum, and the annual imports are equal to the output of Westland, Nelson, Marlborough and Southland combined. I know that some of the imported timber consists of hardwoods which cannot be produced here, and must bs imported. This certainly should come in free; it is required for bridge-building and so on; but there ar e millions of feet of timber coming into the Dominion year after year from countries where cheap labour conditions prevail, and it is brought here at freight rates lower than those for which you bring timber from Grey mouth to Wellington. LEATHER IMPORTS.

Then, again, this is essentially a leather-producing country; and yet, while our manufactures amount + .£432,000 in the year, our importations , amount to nearly £346,000 With respect to boots, the total value of our manufactures in New Zealand is less than £1,226,000; but for the last twelve months we imported nearly £1,000,000 worth, of boots. These are commodities for the production of which New Zealand is eminently suited. WOOLLEN GOODS AND APPAREL.

Th e total value of woollen goods manufactured in this country was £1,263,000 for the and last year w© imported woollen piece goo’S's" to the value of £BBO,OOO. Ready-made wearing apparel we imported to the value °f £2,250,000. I know that some of this must be imported, but still a vast amount of ready-made clothing could be produced here'. We import immense quantites of preserved fruits and yet this country is eminnetly suited for production of preserved fruits. There ar© a number of other secondary industries which could be built up on raw materials produced in New Zealand.