RADICAL PROPOSALS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18580, 14 December 1934, Page 5

RADICAL PROPOSALS

INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION MR. FORBES’ COMMENT DANGER OF COMPULSION (Special to the Herald.) DUNEDIN, this day. The proposals of the Manufacturers Federation lor the co-ordinating of industry were briefly referred to by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, in his address' to the annual meeting of tho Dunedin Manufacturers Association last evening. “Before I left Wellington your federation secretary handed to me a very interesting document dealing .with a report of a special committee of your federation on industrial ' co-ordination,” said Mr. Forbes. The proposals ma,de are many, novel,..radical and* ;-far-reaching, and, naturally, L shall be interested to learn as to how frr .the .manufacturers as m whole give their full backing to each or all. of the proposals. Apparently the suggestion is to set up an industrial commission, with functions somewhat along the lines of the Agricultural Commission, which was the subject of recent legislation. The proposals would involve a certain amount of regimentation of secondary industries and- discipline backed by Government regulation. Naturally the proposals will need very careful consideration by the Government, and by yourselves to make sure that any steps taken may bn in the right direction as a foundation for tho future, when we hope and believe that the present depression and uncertain times may have passed. TRADE BY BARTER “The setting up of the Agricultural Commission was considered necessary by the Government because of the special conditions of the regulation of marketing proposed by the British Government. It was not a deliberate step towards the socialisation of, or interference in, industry, apart from the necessity of an organisation with power to deal with the emergency which has arisen. The extent to which powers will be given to it by Order-in-Council must depend on the extent to which the quota principle is applied to our exports, and the permanence, or otherwise of quotas and the possible development of trade agreements, amounting almost to barter arrangements for the marketing of our agricultural products. “I read in the papers yesterday the possibility of proposals for barter agreements for Australian wool for German goods. One realises the far-reaching consequences of quotas and barter. It may well be that they would affect manufactured goods in which the interests of local manufacturers would have to be taken into account.

FREEDOM OF INDUSTRY “This latter aspect is not raised, however, in your federation’s proposals, and, in any case, I hope, is not an immediate problem. In the scheme proposed there are, however, two interesting problems raised: (1) The co-ordination of industries for the elimination of wasteful forms of competition; and (2) the licensing of new units of industry. “These proposals strike directly at the freedom of units of industry on questions of production and distribution, and while undoubtedly examples may be found from such undertakings as electricity and gas supply authorities, transport regulations, milk distribution ana the like, yet in the past the principle has only been applied to industries or undertakings relating to common services or utilities rather than to industries products have a more varied nature in their consumer requirements, and which are in many cases in competition with one another in their appeal TO' the individual consumers’ spending power. “Naturally, everybody can see an advantage in tho voluntary co-ordination of units of industry where the consumer is likely to benefit, and employment also increased. The delicate point is reached when the co-ordination is to be implemented by compulsion backed by Government authority.”