The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, May 21, 1947. DOMINION’S PROSPERITY

Grey River Argus, 21 May 1947, Page 4

The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, May 21, 1947. DOMINION’S PROSPERITY

WHEN every occasion is taken VV by the press of the Dominion to represent economic developments unfavourably, as a means of discreditng the policy both of the Government and of Organised Labour, it is timely to recall that dire predictions in the newspapers last year have largely been falsfied this* year. It was alleged, that dairy production would fall in an alarming degree, whereas many areas report a marked expansion in output, especially in the North Island. No doubt dry weather, limiting electricity, has there interfered with urban industry, but compared with any other country New Zealand, on the whole has fared well in production and trade. The Dominion has been very consistent in supplying foodstuffs and wool for Britain, and has actually been tilling ships which were unable to obtain loading at Australian ports. Recently it was pointed out by the national executive of the dairy industry that the future was assured by the magnitude of the accumulated reserves available to stabilise prices in the even of any di'op in the world parity. Yesterday the meat producers were advised by their executives of an accumulated reserve which must now exceed £12,000.000. and which wisely is to be regarded as a similar safeguard against a possible price drop. The wool growers are also on a very good wicket, so that the export situation is as sound as could be wished. There certainly are shortages of certain commodities on the internal market, including fruit, which possibly would, ’be in greater supply if price control were entirely removed, but it is doubtful if the distribution would be any better than it is. Import regulation has also been blamed for fruit and other shortages, without any regal’d for the effect of unrestricted importation upon the financial, employment, and revenue aspects of the national economy. Mr Nash may negotiate at Geneva a satisfactory means for the relaxation of import controls, but. the examples of Australia, Britain, Canada, America, and India all demonstrate that imports must be so regulated as to safeguard internal economy. The very means which our importing interests and 1 the Opposition press and politicians quote for an increase of commodities are a. reminder that they consider prosperity to be identical with a great curtailment of the! incomes and spending power of the workers, whose willingness to accept employment at whatever rates they might be offered is tacitly assumed to be the “right oil” for the national industrial machinery. Admittedly there have been exceptional demands on Dominion resources, and the most remarkable result has been the exceptionally large degree in which they have proven equal to the situation. Coal has been in greater demand than ever before, and the. reason has been industrial expansion, new housing, and greater general properity. In the timber trade, demand may remain in excess of supply, but. the emergency has meant the utilisation of varieties of wood, such as pinus insignis, foi purposes previously, relying entirely upon the indigenous varieties. It has now been shown, us one consequence, that exot'es which can be speedily raised will in future play a much bigger part in our economy than anybody once imagined. There also are projects afoot for the utilisation of exotic plantations in the production of paper and board and other materials upon a great scale. Last year there were forecasts of a milk famine, and later the supply of textiles wau declared to be falling rapidly into arrears, whereas it now turns out warehouses are bulging with these textiles, which the manufacturers have withheld from the. market, until they are allowed to charge more for them. The explanation now is that the wool growers are getting better prices—and not that there is a labour shortage. It is at least doubtful whether certain manufacturers of other goods have not deliberately limited output, with the object of forcing taxation down; or have been as short of labour as they have tried to make out. The erstwhile critics I. of the subsidisation policy have

sung' mutely enougli since those manufacturers who had been obtaining cheap sugar have insisted that the consumers shall make up the subsidy entirely. The point is an illustration of the fact that, while normally controls should be at the minimum commensurate with reasonable prices, the stabilisation system which has operated for years past made for fairness in distribution alike of goods and incomes. Finally the very demands, now so vocal, for many additional imports, for much more electricity, for an. increased labour supply, and additional machinery point all to the fact that the national economy is on the up grade, and that great expansion is to be expected, provided only that the masses con tinue to be able to make effective their demands for goods and services through the possession of purchasing power. It is only from a narrow view that the better incomes of the masses appear to be inflationary, for they are less so than the hoarded money of the larger capitalists. It is with an eye to the prevailing prosperity that Auckland capitalists are so anxious to import no end of American machinery for the generation of electricity with the use of imported oil. Taken all in all .New Zealand remains the world’s most prosperous country.