WAR-TIME SHORTAGES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25589, 17 July 1944, Page 6

WAR-TIME SHORTAGES

DIFFICULTIES OF SUPPLY POSITION REVIEWED BY MINISTER A comprehensive review of shortages of various commodities in this country, brought about by war-time condittans, was presented by the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Supply and Munitions, Mr D. G. Sullivan, in a broadcast address last night. The Minister said that New Zealand was a great deal better off m its supplies for civilian consumption than were many other nations in the world, and that complaints regarding restrictions on the use of materials necessary for the war- effort were unreasonable. Although there were shortages of commodities which the people of New Zealand were ' accustomed to enjoy in plenty, Mr Sullivan said, he had no' desire to make excuses, but to tell the facts as he saw them. The restriction of supplies had caused criticism and complaint not only among housewives who found that the provision of meals, clothing and fuel was becoming a problem, but also among the thousands of wage-earners in the country. He pointed out that no Government would invite unpopularity by instituting unnecessary restrictions. Reference to the Dominion’s war effort, particularly with regard to the provision of supplies for the American forces, had been made by a prominent United States editor who was recently in Wellington, Mr Sullivan said. The visitor said that for the Dominion to have accomplished so much without the dislocation of civilian supplies was almost unbelievable, and that the people of this country were faring as well as., and even better than, those of the United States. •

After five years of war, Mr Sullivan said. New Zealand was doing very well indeed. It was true that there were complaints that shirts, gumboots, roofpaints, elastic, totch batteries, and tyres were difficult and in some cases impossible to obtain, apd that some of the people’s dietary habits had had to be changed. Yet after five years of war New Zealand compared with other parts, of the world had not felt acute austerity or dire want. There was always a conflict in war-time between the demands of war and the needs of the civilian population. The pressure of war on civilian production was relentless, although this was not appreciated by some people who could not get what they wanted when they wanted it, or who complained that the price was too high. “ Little Cause for Grumbling ”

“From what visitors from overseas, as well as New Zealanders who have returned to this country' from other parts of the world, have told us, I feel that'we have very little real cause for grumbling,” Mr Sullivan said. “ Some people complain that they cannot get rice, tapioca, and sago. But ninetenths of the supplies of these commodities formerly came from the Far East, and it was only as the result of the forethought and careful planning of the Government during the months before the conflict spread to the Pacific that supplies of these commodities were built up, enabling small quantities to be released from time to time. People are also annoyed because there are no dates, but when Russia lost the Ukraine, almost the entire date crop of other parts of the world was rushed to Russia. I have been asked why we should ration tea, when there appears to be plenty in the grocers’ shops. As the result- of the rationing the Dominion’s consumption of tea has been reduced to two-thirds of its pre-war level, and its issue is still controlled by the Home authorities.” Dealing with wearing apparel, Mr Sullivan said that the Dominion manufacturers had made hundreds of thousands of pairs of boots for export to the Allied Nations, and had also clothed our own troops m the best materials available. The quality of the locally-produced uniforms and footwear had won the highest praise from our own and other troops, and people should be glad that they had made some sacrifice for New Zealand’s own fighting men. When it was realised that most of the civilian wearing apparel used in. this country was, supplied by the Mother Country, and that 80 per cent, of the Dominion manufacturers’ production went to clothe the country’s armedJorces, a true.perspective of “the::position would-be gained. Even in normal dimes New Zealand produced only half of its total clothing requirements, but a reorganisation of clothing production was being carried out, and it was hoped to be able to bring about a gradual increase of supplies to local consumers. The Gumboot Position

Mr Sullivan went on to deal with the reasons for the shortage of rubber, certain types of paints, electrical equipment, and other goods that were urgently required for the fighting forces, and said-that the acute shortage of supplies of gumboots was directly attributable to the shortage of rubber. In 1943 and in March of this year two shipments, totalling 41,000 pairs of gumboots, had been brought into the country under lend-lease, but the, normal demand was 250,000 pairs annually. A New Zealand factory was now* turning out 2000 pairs of knee gumboots daily, but the production of thigh boots was affected by the man-power situation. Raw material for 200,000 pairs of sandshoes had been obtained,* but the annual consumption-* was normally 1,000.000 nairs, and the same position applied to goloshes. The shortage of petrol had always been a contentious, matter, the Mimster said, and motorists were not always prepared to accept the statement thatsupplies were not sufficient for the country’s needs. Reflection on the number of tankers that had been sunk and the huge demands on petrol supplies made by the. air and land ' var should make them realise that they could not obtain all the petrol they wanted. Petrol rationing in New Zealand had resulted in the saving oi 130,000,000 gallons. Coal was short, but, in spite of everything that had been said about them, the New Zealand ir.inofs were the only miners who were now producing more than they did before the war. Normally the imports annually from Australia totalled 100,000 tons, but now none was imported, and the mines had lost 500 experienced men to the armed forces. The Minister invited all his hearers to join issue with anyone who complained about shortages, and that included newspaper writers, he did not want to stifle intelligent criticism, and if anomalies or administrative mistakes’- occurred they would be ended as soon as possible.