HELP TO INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22916, 20 December 1937, Page 14

HELP TO INDUSTRY

GOVERNMENT'S SHAKE NEGATIVE ACTION ONLY VIEWS OF MANUFACTURERS "Manufacturers' difficulties have been caused by tlie action of «i Government of well-intentioned experiments who have forced up internal costs without' foreseeing the inevitable results upon a comparatively unsheltered market," states the Auckland Manufacturers' Association, in reply to criticisms by Mr. W. A. Boucher, organiser of the Importers' Bureau. "The Labour Government's contribution to industry lias been a purely negative one," continues the statement. "The opportunity was ripe for a party which could appreciate the possibility of a well-conceived plan of industrial development. The good work of the Department of Industries and Commerce has been stultified by a Government which paitl lip-service to order and method in industry. but which failed to realise that imports must he regulated if factories aro to bo kept open and flourishing. "The prevailing sense of uncertainty would bo dispelled if the Government would fulfil its promises and devote to industrial welfare the time and attention it has given to agricultural and pastoral problems, and other matters which are of much less importance in the life of the community." After challenging Mr. Boucher to disclose the membership of the Importers' Bureau, the association reiterates that there is plenty of room for both importers and manufacturers. "The total value of factory production in New Zealand increased from £31,729,002 in 1910 to £90,014,748 in 1935-36. If Mr. Boucher's fears had any basis, this growth in industrial production should have caused the complete cessation of imports. Instead of that, the total imports have risen from £17,051,584 in 1910 to £14,259,000 in 1936. The vagueness and inaccuracies of Mr. Boucher's generalisations are nowhere better illustrated than in his comments on the footwear industry. He states that raw materials for the footwear industry are admitted free of duty. We point out, firstly, that there is a justifiable tariff of 15 per cent on leather to protect local tanners. Of the seven other tariff schedule items, comprising materials for footwear, three carry a 20 per cent British tariff and four carry a general tariff of from 20 to 50 per cent."