NEW ZEALAND’S TURN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 30 November 1938, Page 11

NEW ZEALAND’S TURN

STEP FORWARD IN INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION MINISTER’S ADDRESS TO MANUFACTURERS ! United Press Associationl WELLINGTON, This Day. j "It is now many years since our sister Dominion, Canada, grew into a greatj industrial nation. Australia took its: great step not many years ago. It is' now the ftirn of New Zealand. I feci ! you are, and the Government and the people as a whole are, on the point of seeing this country take its big step forward industrially,” said the Minister of' Industries and Commerce. Mr Sullivan, in officially opening the annual confer- j ence of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation in Wellington yester- j day. "The great necessity is that all con- j cerned pull their weight by cooperation,” the Minister said. "The scope is there, the will is present; it now remains to harness our forces and; direct them into the paths of orderly but none the less continuous expansion.” ; The recent statement by the Prime' Minister, Mr Savage, that the Govern- j ment was expediting the preparation of new plans for an increase in production was recalled by Mr Sullivan, who said he had set up a central executive of the Bureau of Industry to give special attention to this question. The executive would concentrate more intensively on plans for industrial expansion and the establishment of new industries. "One of the questions lo be answered ; is; Would there be a market in New Zealand for a greater volume of manu-; facturcd goods, the produce of our own . factories?” Mr Sullivan said. "The im-' port figures supply the answer. Taking! the years ended 30th September, im-! ports from all countries increased from £43,000,000 in 1935 to nearly £60,000,000 j in 1938, an advance of £16,166,881. This! advance in imports was due to the fact l that the purchasing power of the people 1 had been raised, partly by the direct action of the Government and partly through higher prices for our exports. "The raising of the people's buying ! power benefited manufacturers also as the figures show. The figures for 1938 are not compiled yet. but. comparing 1936-37 with 1933-34, there is the sue- j stantial increase to be seen of over £8,000.000. This, however, is only half the increase recorded for imports during a four-yearly period and indicates that of an extra £24,000.000 spent on goods in New Zealand only one-third went into our own factories. The obvious fact is that this extra £ 16.000.000 worth of goods could have been made by our own people if—and there we ■ come to some problems. THE LABOUR QUESTION | "The first question is one of labour. Reports I have received from the di.s- ! trict officers of my department for j many months past have all had this to j say, ‘Skilled labour is very scarce.' I Production could be expanded if morel skilled workers were available.’ and I so on. The same remarks applied toj junior labour. I am not suggesting for] a moment that I regard a scarcity of labour as a bad thing—l much prefer j a scarcity of labour lo an excess, and J any benefits the workers have enjoyed i during these last three years by reason of their short supply was owing to them to make up for the wretched limes they had when labour was in such abundant supply relative to demand that wages were forced down and down and many had to abandon ' their trades for the relief camps. "However, we will not revive those painful memories except to say this, the shortage of skilled labour at the present time can largely be attributed ' to the fact that so few apprentices (' were trained during the depression. ! This is a question to be faced and a 1 solution found. With the active co-Ji

operation of the workers and the manu- j facturers and the sympathetic assistance of the Government the problem j should be solved.” PARTICIPATING IN EXPANSION Mr Sullivan said it was only reason- j able that existing manufacturers who. ; by their pioneering efforts, had built up sound enterprises and provided good employment for many New Zealanders. should have the opportunity , of participating in any expansion. It would be unreasonable if newcomers into any industry were permitted to reap all the fruits of industrial expansion. Thus it would be the Government's aim to make it possible for , present plants to be expanded. "On the other hand, we are not going to build your extensions lor you. or put in more plants,” the Minister said. "Existing manufacturers must exercise | their own judgment and initiative. If the Government can assist in any plans of expansion. I hope manufacturers will let us know their needs. "I have been very pleased to note the number of overseas concerns which j think it worth while to commence the manufacture of their products here. 1 Some have come without direct encouragement from us. others, whom we needed in New Zealand, ihave required some inducement.” ENCOURAGEMENT TO INDUSTRY j Encouragement was given in the, motor-car industry where there was a lower rate of duty on vehicles imported J "completely knocked down.” Mr Sul - j Jivan said. A large number of the ea- si purchased in New Zealand were to-day. i to a very large extent, the products cf! New Zealand factories and workers, j There was scope for expansion in this | direction and he would like to see the ' manufacturers in the United Kingdom take a greater interest in this question. I Thirdly, there was tariff protection, i This added protection, given earlier in j the year, had been of very great benefit to many manufacturers, and all mem-, bers of the Government were very gratified at the remarkable response the]

manufacturers made to their new opportunities. "Prices are an important factor lo any Government,” Mr Sullivan said ’Some Government try to keep thqfn low, others take na active steps tc control, others exercise rigid conti .>l. Uneconomic prices are no good to anyone, not even the consumer, in the lone run, because he suffers indirectly and usually the quality of the produce >t lowered. INCREASED EFFICIENCY "On the other hand, the prices a work has to pay for goods determine the effectiveness of his weekly wages. Anything which can be done to make goods cheaper, without sacrificing quality or wages, is to be commended. Increased efficiency is the key. Despite the enormous strides made in production technique in recent years I feel there are still many improvements which are possible. In New Zealand, the smallness of the local market hai so far prevonted most factories from adopting the mass production method? applied so effectively in overseas conn tries, but nevertheless they have become remarkably efficient.”