Patea & Waverley Press FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1930 IS IT A BLUNDER?

Patea Mail, Volume LI, 12 September 1930, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1930 IS IT A BLUNDER?

IN view of the adverse criticism that has been levelled at Australia of late with regard tocher financial position, it is not surprising to find that people in this Dominion are finding fault with the Government for having invited Sir Otto Niemeyer to visit and advise on the country’s finances, the fear being expressed that when the outside world learns that Sir Otto has been called in by the New Zealand Government the general impression will be that this country is in as bad a predicament as that of Australia. What would have been New Zealand’s position had the £70,000,000 that the United Party promised in their manifesto prior to the last election been raised it is not pleasant to contemplate. It is more than possible that had this sum been borrowed New Zealand to-day would be in a far worse plight even than Australia and that is saying a great deal. What the Government hopes to gain from Sir Otto’s visit beyond the advice to ‘‘gang warily,” it is difficult to imagine. And this advice could have been given equally as well by Mr. Downie Stewart without it costing the country a penny. '-A well-known Wellington economist in referring to Sir Otto’s visit confirms this Avhen he says: ‘‘There is nothing that Sir Otto can do for us that we could not do for ourselves. We know our problems of finance and increasing expenditure and the question of dealing with them is one, not of investigation, but of strength of Government. We need legislators with the courage to say “No.” ‘‘lf ever we reach Australia’s present unhappy, position there will be real need for Sir Otto; but the most that he can do for us is to sound a note of caution and advocate a policy of gradual reduction of borrowing abroad, both of which courses have been advocated by the Hon. Downie Stewart for years past, and which were applied by him during his period as Minister of Finance. However, there will be one effect of Sir Otto’s visit and that will be a bad one. What will London think of our feeling that it is necessary to call in a

financier to aclvi.se ns on our national budget? The result is bound to react against the Dominion’s credit. It is too late now to do any more than register a protest, but it may be said that investors for some time past have been uneasy about the Antipodean field; without reason as far as Ngw Zealand is concerned. This move will serve to confirm them in their fears. We have not suffered from a succession of unbalanced budgets as has Australia, nor have we raised short term loans to balance them, and then converted this floating debt into long-term debt, as Australian States have. We are not a high-ly-taxed country even yet, and have great reserves. Why, then, give a wrong impression to the world?” There is a great deal in what the economist says. The Government could have achieved the result aimed at without cost had it urged the people to be more self-reliant and had decided at the same time to curtail all unnecessary expenditure, particularly that on useless railway construction. It might have gone a step further and incidentally done more for New Zealand than Sir Otto Niemeyer could possibly do had it warned the people of the folly of sending millions each year to America, New Zealand’s worst customer, and at the same time expect to receive full prices for New Zealand produce from the people of the Homeland, where the Avorkers are starving through the shutting doAvn of industries consequent upon the policy adopted by the British people overseas in supporting countries other than their oavu. If the people of the British Dominions are not careful they Avill AA r ake up one day to find that the Home people have decided to teach them a lesson in patriotism and Avill refuse to purchase colonial produce so long as the manufactures of foreign countries are preferred to those of Britain.