New Zealand Teuth THE NATIONAL PAPER. THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1930. Business Men In Politics

NZ Truth, Issue 1274, 1 May 1930, Page 4

New Zealand Teuth THE NATIONAL PAPER. THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1930. Business Men In Politics

\UITH refreshing candor, unusual' m a Cabinet Minister,, Mr. J. B. Donald, Minister of Trade ajad Commerce, tells the people of New Zealand that there are not enough business men m Government. Nobody will' dispute . his statement, mainly because ;it is a lamentable truth. The utterance, hoNvever, is singularly arresting, coming as it does from one of a Cabinet which has not, so far, distinguished itself for its individuality of ministerial expression. The declaration by Mr. Donald was, apparently, inspired by the suggestion —not by any means new, since it had its origin upon the/ election platforms of the Coates Party some years ago— -. £hat there would be less Government iri business. . . ' < ' 1 The Minister of Trade and Commerce is to be congratulatd on -his courage m publicly admitting an obvious fact, and, the confession by no means places the United l/arty m the forefront of public scrutiny as. the only party afflicted m the way 'Mr. Donald deprecates. - There is quite as noticeable an absence of business men, experts m commerce, industry and finance among members' of the Reform and Labor parties as m the ranks of the Government party. Mr. Donald's appeal, which was delivered at. the annual meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Cpriimerce, should make a strong 'and widespread impression. The gist of what he said is epitomized m his concluding remarks: . "I don't' care what the business men's political faith is — r am not a politician — and they must make sacrifices. The country wants men of high purpose and of strict integrity, who will do the right thing whatever the cost. I. believe we have such men m our midst, and it is up to you to ,see that they come out at the next election." . - The reluctance of business men of ability— and this, means men engaged m industry as well as commerce — to enter the political field is hot peculiar to New Zealand, but is characteristic of most countries. The position of the Commonwealth is a particularly good example to this Dominion of the resuits that- can. accrue from government by men lacking business ability, vision and balanced .... A political^ career' entails sacrificesmost careers do.' The public, duty of political representation, however, calls for greater self-denial, since 'it demands sacrifice not only m a business sense, but m the social and, more.important still, m the domestic spheres. Taking it by and large, it is a thankless job, and one not warranted to induce men of proven ability to abandon other arid pei'riaps more profitable careers in' order to. adopt it. .The persistent ..; refusal of business men' to entertain politics naturally suggests the query: "What inducement can be offered to offset such an unatt'ractiyeiproppsiiion ?"• only an acute sense- of responsibility and intense patriotism will inspire the business men to enter the political arena. . ■ • Where, then, lies the remedy for mediocre Parliamentary representation? In his appeal, Mr. Donald embodied an admission that business meri were facing difficult times, but the difficulties would be overcome. He added that the Government would be only too glad to have the assistance of the business men. In this latter statement lies the crux of the whole problem. No one will' be optimistic enough to imagine that where private appeals, to business men have failed, a public exhortation will have a thawing effect. . . The only possible solution suggesting itself is that hinted at by the Minister, when he intimated that his Government would, be glad to obtain advice from outside experts. This plan worked with remarkably valuable results m regard to unemployment. Outside co-operation must not be construed as meaning an interference with permanent experts as represented by heads ot Government departments and their staffs. Presumably, what Mr. Donald was hinting was that his Party would welcome advice^ and call for.it m times of national crisis.