POTATO EMBARGO

Southland Times, Issue 23675, 25 November 1938, Page 3

POTATO EMBARGO

STRONG PROTESTS IN SYDNEY UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY SYDNEY, November 18. The United Australia Party convention heartily agreed to a motion that the Federal Government should be emphatically informed that ’he convention considered that the embargo on New Zealand potatoes was not in the best interests of Australia. Although one of the principal speakers, Sir FreaencK Stewart, said, “Narrow parochialism is the only justification for the embargo, it is unlikely that the Federal Government, dominated by the Country Party, will be much influenced by the convention’s motion. Mr J. Bryant, a delegate from a cit-rus-growing district, who sponsored the motion, said the excuse for the embargo, that there was a danger of diseased potatoes entering Australia, no longer existed. Nor was there any danger of Australian prices being affected, because New Zealand potatoes could not be economically imported under £l3 or £l4 a ton. The corky scab disease was more prevalent in Tasmania today than it was in New Zealaiia. Sir Frederick Stewart said the national and parochial selfishness was responsible for rhe embargo. When he was Minister of Commerce he was not satisfied with the reasons for the embargo, and he visited New Zealand. I brought back a tentative agreement needing only the signature on the dotted line,” he said. “It gave Australia a potential increase of £250,600 worth of trade with New Zealand, whue New Zealand would have benefited only by about £50,000. Only political developments at the time prevented the agreement being put into effect. A little while ago local potatoes were bringing £2O a ton and Australian oranges in New Zealand were bringing 4/- a dozen. We had a huge surplus of oranges here, with a surplus of potatoes in New Zealand. The result was that consumers in both countries were being bled white. Sir Frederick said that in 1934 he had called a conference of Australian and New Zealand entomologists at Canberra, and they decided there was no longer any necessity for the restriction of orange exports to New Zealand and New Zealand potato exports to Australia. Because of Australia s attitude, New Zealand had. lost confidence in the integrity of Australia, and it was with difficulty that he had succeeded in getting New Zealand representation.