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Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 142, 17 June 1936, Page 8

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GOVERNMENT’S JOB EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE ( Per Press Association. ) WELLINGTON, June 16. A suggestion from Christchurch that the Government intended to appoint accountants to investigate the affairs of important firms, particularly to see the effect of the new industrial legislation, was specifically denied by the Prime Minister, Hon. M. J. Savage, in an interview to-night. “Such a suggestion has no foundation at all,” said Mr. Savage, “because it would imply for one thing that the Government is out looking fjr trouble. As I have said time and again from the public platform and elsewhere, we have no intention whatever of harassing business people and putting obstables in their way. At the same time, this does not mean the Government will not watch very closely any tendency on the part of industry to take undue advantage of the changed conditions. There can be no argument against the fact that if one industry is allowed to exploit the people and make undue profits it can only do that either at the expense of some other industry or the consumers. We intend to watch developments of that sort and if necessary to make use of all the powers that are already available under the Board of Trade Act for dealing with exploitation. “In the meantime our desire is to play the part of referee, seeing that both sides get a fair deal, because we have already recognised that the man who pays wages is entitled to consideration as well as the man who receives them.”