Young New Zealanders’ Association

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 258, 30 October 1937, Page 8

Young New Zealanders’ Association

FOR FREEDOM OF ENTERPRISE The Young New Zealanders 7 Association, which has been established for the purpose of providing younger men throughout New Zealand with the opportunity and facilities for studying the political position in New Zealand, offers the following observations on some opinions recently expressed by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. Mr Walter Nash, and Mr J. A. Lee, Undersecretary for Housing. In his reply to criticism of the Budget tho Hon. Mr Walter Nash is reported to have said that there was no such thing as a flight of capital from New Zealand. It was possible some funds might bo going overseas, but they were not appreciable. For one thing, New Zealand was still a country in which to invest money and it could even be argued that people who earned their living in New Zealand could bo expected to invest their surplus funds within the Dominion. It is interesting to consider tho Minister of Finance’s statements alongside those of Mr J. A. Lee, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Housing. In his recently published booklet “Money Power for the People, 77 Mr Lee says that internal loans except those held by the Post Office Savings Bank and Superannuation funds should be redeemed out of the Reserve Bank credit and not re-issued to the public. Mr Leo also says that at some stage Labour must make credit available to secondary industries. While Mr Lee makes it clear that the opinion expressed in his booklet are his own, he claims that these views coincide with Labour promises. On the one hand, wo find tho Minister of Finance inferring that it is the duty of New Zealanders to invest their surplus income within the Dominion, whilo on the other hand we have Mr. Lee, a prominent member of the Government, outlining a finance programme which must progressively undermine, if not completely extinguish, all scope for the investment of private capital. In the past the private investor in New Zealand has had the choice of investing in. Government securities, local body securities, or in commercial and industrial undertakings. If, as Mr. Lee predicts, it is the purpose of the present Government to provide all the capital it requires for Government purposes by manufacturing money to be called Reserve Bank credit, then it is reasonable to suppose that that policy will later be extended to local body finance. This would result in two previous avenues of investment being closed to the private investor. Mr. Lee has been good enough to inform us that the Government will later provide in the same way money for secondary industries, which appears to justify the suggestion that this is another avenue of investment for private capital which will be closed. This leaves the one remaining avenue —that of business activity, and in this connection the Government has already provided tangible evidence of its intention to compete in this sphere. Only recently it was announced that the Government intended to set up a council for the purpose of organising the retail chemists 7 business in New Zealand and that that council would be responsible for the direction of a combined buying organisation in connection with the retail chemist trade. State commandeer of our dairy produce, State control of the wheat and flour industry, as well as State control of such services as broadcasting, transport, etc., have now become established factors in New Zealand. In the light of this evidence of State monopoly of important industries and the prediction of Mr. Lee that the Government intends to go much further in this direction, it is difficult to see what inducement there is for the investment of private capital in business undertakings. There are many people in New Zealand who would dispute Mr. Nash’s statement that the amount of New Zealand capital being sent overseas for investment is not appreciable, but whatever may be tho position at the moment it seems fair to suggest that if the policy of the Government has been rightly interpreted by Mr. Lee, private capital will in futuro be forced out of the country for investment purposes. During the recent Address-in-reply debate, the Minister of Mines, the Hon. Mr. P. C. Webb, invited the Opposition to fight the Government on some big political issue. No doubt the Opposition will be willing and ready to cross swords with the Government on many big political issues when they consider tho time opportune to do so, but in the meantime we want to submit that the real political issue in New Zealand to-day is Freedom of Enterprise v. State Control of Enterprise. If tho present Government is prepared to give a public assurance that it will co-oper-ate with the private investor in developing New Zealand and allow the investor to profit according to the energy and enterprise put into any undertaking, then there will be some inducement for private capital to be used in the development of this Dominion. This question is not merely one of economics. It also has a very direct bearing on the building of our race. One cannot look back on the history of the British Empire or on the history of this country without appreciating the national value of the enterprise and determination of our pioneers. It is this spirit of independence and enterprise which has made the British Empire and has made New Zealand. If this same spirit is to bo stifled in New Zealand by State dictation and competition in private enterprise, then the result will be a nation of learners. In the policy of the present Government results in undermining the scope for the investment of private capital it automatically undermines the scope for the enterprise of the individual and tho only possible result is an army of public servants commanded by a handful of Cabinet Ministers. It would appear reasonable to ask the Government to indicate to the public what part it considers private enterprise should play in the future development of New Zealand. Is it the intention of the Government to ultimately control industry in New Zea-

land by providing credit at a cost that private capital cannot compete with? This is the big political issue on which the present Government will be largely judged, and the public is entitled to know the intentions of the Government in this connection.