DOMINION'S PROBLEMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21935, 19 October 1934, Page 15

DOMINION'S PROBLEMS

TASKS FOR A DICTATOR PRIVATE ENTERPRISE FAVOURED The plans that might be adopted by a dictator if he had five years in which to attack the problems of New Zealand were outlined by Mr. H. W. IT. Haddow in & lecture given to the Workers Educational Association. "Ihe purely monetary explanation of our troubles is superficial, and a purely monetary solution is a delusion,", Mr. Haddow said. The fact that New Zealand exported a larger proportion of its total production than any other important country made it particularly sensitive to changes in international price levels. Mr. Haddow said, while the lack of diversity of its export products, most of which were animal products, was a weakness.- To cope with international competition, the problem to be met was that of reducing costs, and under private competition there was a greater probability of reaching a maximum of efficiency. Mr. Haddow pointed out that there was no bankruptcy Court to eliminate inefficient State institutions, nor was there the constant exercise of initiative and imagination in seeking new ways of production. The scope for rationalisation among the multiplicity of local bodies and small ports was mentioned by Mr Haddow as one of the tasks that a dictator could first, deal with. He also advocated a complete reorganisation of the tariff and taxation system with a view to substituting as far as possible direct taxation for indirect. As the income tax not be passed on, it did not afiVct the price of commodities, whereas indirect taxes did so enormously. For the same reason the taxation of company profits should be abolished and taxation of the recipients of dividends should be substituted.