AUSTRALIA GONE MAD

Taranaki Daily News, 22 July 1929, Page 12

AUSTRALIA GONE MAD

PROTECTION AND BONUSES,

SIR GEORGE FOWLDS’ COMMENTS.

Auckland, July 15.

“’Australia has gone mad on the subject of protection and bonuses,” said the Hon, Sir George Fowlds when telling members of the Auckland Rotary Club to-day about his recent trip across the Tasman. He said he thought Australia was heading for trouble, and that in New Zealand we were trying to follow in their footsteps in the matter to which he referred.

If New Zealanders would. only realise what was happening in Australia as a result of that policy it would make them pause, said Sir George Fowlds. For instance, every pound of butter that was sold in Australia had to carry an extra 4Ad., which -was the cost of the bonus granted to exported butter. Exactly the same sort of thing happened with sugar. In New Zealand one could buy sugar at 3£d per lb, but in Australia he did not see any less than 5d per lb. The reason ■was the bonus that had to be paid the growers. In those two items alone, butter and sugar, he was informed that the people of the Commonwealth had to find £6,500,000 every year simply to make up for bonuses granted by the Government. When the bottom fell out of the wheat market the growers approached the Commonwealth Government, and asked for a guarantee of 5s Hd a bushel when the world price was about 45., and they were quite annoyed when the Government did nothing in the matter. Growers over there pointed out that New Zealand was doing something of the kind, but the Government up to the present had done nothing. If the Federal Government did grant a bonus on wheat the only thing left without protection or a bonus ■would be wool. Then, if those two items were subsidised, there would be nothing at all left. Everyone would be perfectly happy and contented, and, concluded Sir Georgo Fowlds, there would not be much else for Australians to do except take in each other’s -washing.