EMBARGO AGAINST STOCK

Taranaki Daily News, 10 February 1934, Page 7

EMBARGO AGAINST STOCK

NEW ZEALAND UNFRIENDLY BRITISH CRITICISM GROWING MR. G. W. FORBES’ WARNING COMPETITORS’ ADVANTAGE By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. “There is no doubt that our future lies along the lines of producing stock of the highest quality,” said the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, when declaring the Royal Show officially open. “World competition is growing keener and our opponents are profiting by lessons learned from our organisation to improve theirs. “It is therefore undoubtedly the duty of the leaders in our pastoral industry to bring about improvements and enable us to retain the markets we have,” Mr. Forbes said. “Complacency spells retrogression. It is the work being done by our royal shows and other show organisations which points the way to improvements.” The Prime Minister said that when he was in Britain in 1930 the question of importation by New Zealand of British stock was a burning one. British farmers asked him why New Zealand had put an embargo on their stock. They said they had done everything which scientific knowledge could dictate to prevent diseased stock leaving Britain. Other countries accepted their stock yet New Zealand retained a very rigid embargo.

In reply, said Mr. Forbes, he told them that New Zealand farmers were afraid of foot and mouth disease. He was shown the British quarantine station and saw the precautions being taken. He saw there stock destined for Australia and felt that Australia was gaining an advantage over New Zealand, for if the Dominion was to work for quality it must not neglect any means of bringing it about. He was assured in Britain that Australia was satisfied with the arrangements made.

When New Zealand was endeavouring to obtain the goodwill of British farmers they should see what they could do to dispel what was undoubtedly a feeling in Britain that the New Zealand attitude was unreasonable. It was a matter for farmers’ organisations to deal with but he felt he must tell them that the feeling was growing in Britain that the New Zealand embargo was an unfriendly act not done by other Dominions. The matter had been mentioned to him when he was in Britain again last year.