PROTECTION GONE MAD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 2516, 20 December 1927, Page 4

PROTECTION GONE MAD.

The dairying industry cf this country has received another serious blo.v by the decision of the Australian Commonwealth Government to increase the duty on butter from 2d a lb to 6d a lb. With the cost of handling, shipping, and other incidental expenses, it seems that the expert of butter from this country "will now cease. Yet the onus for this state of things is partly due to our own action in placing a duty on Australian wheat, in order to protect farmers in the South Island. Australia is a wheat growing country; New Zealand is a dairying country. If Australia can, after paying all shipping and other charges, send. wheat and flour to this country and compete successfully with the localgrown article, then she should be allowed to do so. The same principle should apply to our butter in Australia. The standard of living in both countries is the same, and it is not a case of sweated labour and dumping. The fact is that Australian conditions are suitable for one class of production, while New Zealand is

suitable for another, and there is ample room for reciprocity in Customs tariff between the two countries. In the Old World it is being- recognised amongst economists that high, customs tariffs are a hindrance to prosperity and progress, and a great effort is being made to reduce the duties between the various countries of Europe. If this were done would go a long way to bringing about a more uniform standard of living. Until that is done the next best thing is “Trade within the Empire,” but here we find two of the Dominions adopting retaliatory methods towards one another to try and please sectioned interests in their own countries. The people in both have to pay in the end, while it in such methods which have the effect of killing the great objective of Empire reciprocity, which will bring enormous benefits to both New Zealand and Australia by stabilising , prices for their primary products, while at the same time helping the Mother Country to expand, her industries by increased exports of manufactured goods to the Dominions.