N.Z. ECONOMIC POLICY

Grey River Argus, 9 August 1937, Page 5

N.Z. ECONOMIC POLICY

PLANNING URGENT Says Mr Savage WELLINGTON, August fl. “For the benefit of manufacturers, I will say that I have come back more satisfied than ever that we have to build a prosperous national economy in New Zealand,” said the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, in an interview with “The Standard”. “Whatever steps are necessary for the further development of secondary industries will have to be taken,” continued Mr. Savage. He indicated that the Government would go in for definite industrial planning, making certain of what industries were desirable and then seeing that they were put on a proper footing. “It is certain that we cannot expand our markets for primary produce in New Zealand,” said the Prime Minister, “unless we have a corresponding development of secondary industries.” Referring to the export situation as regards primary produce, the Prime Minister said that while in London the delgates from the Dominions had had invitations to agree to quotas and levies. “But,” added Mr. Savage, “we just wouldn’t agree. I said that we couldn’t govern Britain but we could govern New Zealand, and I also said that we didn’t want to be pushed into foreign markets because that meant that we would have to take foreign goods.” Asked whether New Zealand was likely to move towards economic nationalism Mr. Savage said that that was the natural trend the world over. All countries tended to become more able to produce more of the things that their populations needed. “Too many people speak of economic nationalism in suspicious tones as if it were something undesirable,” continued the Prime Minister, “but it is just the natural outcome of scientific developments.” Progress towards national self-suf-ficiency was naturally opposed by the international money-lenders, continued Mr. Savage. Countries that did not pay their own working people a sufficient wage to purchase the equivalent of their own production must necessarily have a tremendous surplus, and financiers usually tried to invest the surplus in foreign lands. They could only draw their interest in goods and therefore they wanted less of the goods produced in their own country. “If Britain takes more of her own production and less from abroad, for instance,” said Mr. Savage, “the money-lenders won’t be able to get their* interest so easily. Therefore their interests are against the development of their own countries.” Mr. Savage also expressed the opinion that if there were less investment of domestic capital in foreign countries there would be less to go to war about.