PRICE CONTROL OF PRESS ADVERTISING AGAIN IN N.S.W.

Grey River Argus, 14 October 1949, Page 3

PRICE CONTROL OF PRESS ADVERTISING AGAIN IN N.S.W.

(Rec. 9.10). SYDNEY, October 13. The New South Wales Minister of Labour and Industry, Hon. F. J. Finnan, said in the Legislative Assembly to-day that controls would be again imposed on the daily newspaper advertising rates. Tffiese rates would be reduced on November 1 to the prices that were being charged in September, 1948. The controls were lifted at that time.

The Minister added that the officials of the Prices Branch felt that this action is necessary because of the increases in charges that have been made by all of the daily metropolitan newspapers. OBJECTS OF N.Z. PRICE TRIBUNAL WELLINGTON, Oct 13. “The functions of the Price Tribunal are legislative both in substance and form,” submitted the Soli-citor-General, Mr H.E. Evans K.C., in the Supreme Court, to-day.’ He was opening the case for the Price Tribunal and the Director of Price Control in the action brought by F. E. Jackson and Co. Ltd., Auckland, seeking a writ of certiorari to remove price Order No. 1001 into the 'Supreme Court in order to have it quashed. “The first event in the story was the restoration of New Zealand currency to sterling parity,” said Mr Evans. "This immediately gave rise to a problem, in price control. If the matter had been lef to itself, competition with parity goods would in time have forced down the prices of non-parity goods. On the other hand it was necessary in the public interest that consumers should get the full benefit of the change as soon as it was fairly available. T lie reason for prescribing a deadline date was that, without one it would become increasingly difficult to supervise price orders.” After Mr Evans concluded his submissions, Mr Justice Hutchison reserved his decision.