Hasty And Drastic Legislation

Southland Times, Issue 23375, 6 December 1937, Page 4

Hasty And Drastic Legislation

After an all-night sitting and the application of the closure, the Government had its way with the Primary Products Marketing Amendment Bill; and in the early hours of Saturday morning this arbitrary and far-reaching legislation was entitled to a place on the statute books. We have already pointed out the dangerous powers embodied in this measure. If it is true that the Government intended merely to set up a more orderly system for the internal marketing of farm produce, why was the Bill made to cover the fixing of prices and conditions of sale for “any other foodstuffs specified from time to time by Order-in-Council”? This may be nothing more than a precautionary measure against some hypothetical crisis; but it could also be the basis for a deeper incursion into the narrowing. fields of private enterprise. Whether it is one or the other, it implies an arrogation of powers so formidable that the Government had no right to claim them until it had given the public fair warning of its intentions, or at least until it had placed its plans before those trading' interests which will be

most nearly affected by the new legislation. A large majority in the House of Representatives does not constitute a mandate from the people for dictatorial action; and the Government is gravely mistaken if it believes that it can continue to impress its will in tills way without ranging against it a widening section of hostile opinion. Nor should it be forgotten that the Bill does a great deal more than provide a framework for possible control in all forms of internal marketing. By opening an account at the Reserve Bank for the Internal Marketing Division and authorizing payments from this account for the purchase of foodstuffs, the Government will allow the use of credit at the rate of 1 or per cent, in enterprises that will be in active competition with food-dis-tributing firms which have to earn profits or go out of business. Government supporters may say that this would be a wholly desirable state of affairs, and that the sooner the State is controlling the distribution of foodstuffs the better it will be for the community. This, of course, is one of those political theories which can only be disproved by the processes of trial and error. One point needs to be made at this juncture. Private enterprise may share the imperfections of all human activities; but if it is conducted badly and wastefully a private business ceases to exist, whereas a system under the control of bureaucracy merely passes into a stricter network of regulations, is burdened with an army of officers and inspectors, and can fall back on an uneconomic use of public money when all else fails. In the meantime a new element of uncertainty has been added to trade in New Zealand.

The Labour Party is making a fatal mistake if it believes that the essence of good government consists in rushing through as much radical legislation as time permits, and then sitting back to await the verdict of the people. This is a quick way of loading the country with unnecessary burdens. Wisdom in government implies an awareness of the total needs of the community, and a sensitive response to the changing trends of public opinion. In following up the blunders of the guaranteed price scheme with the dictatorial enactments of the Primary Products Marketing Bill, the present Government has shown that it is more concerned with having its own way than with anything else. And New Zealand—whatever the Labour Party may think to the contrary —is not in the mood for a dictatorship.