PUBLIC OPINION

Wanganui Chronicle, 22 January 1947, Page 4

PUBLIC OPINION

PRODUCTION IN N.Z. Sir, “Question Mark’s’’ letter in your issue of Thursday is pertinent. He refers, particularly, to the Government display advertising urging us to “keep production ‘high’’ and what do these advertisements cost? I read recently the scale of advertising charges in one of our city newspapers and from that I gathered that the cost of public notification was from 5s to 7s 6d ped linear inch per insertion. In your issue of yesterday were two Govern-' ment display advertisements each approximately eight inches over three columns or equal to twenty-four linear inches at, say, 5s per inch or £6 for each advertisement per issue. You, Mr. Editor, can correct this if my deductions are incorrect. As those advertisements appear in practically every daily newspaper in New Zealand as well as in weekly and monthly publications the gentle taxpayer can form a rough idea of what he is paying for it. We read quite recently a message from Marton that the request from potato growers in that district for a higher price to meet increased costs had been refused by the Government and we read, also, in yesterday’s “Chronicle” of a potato famine in Dunedin and the likelihood of an extensive black market. We read in the last issue of an Auckland newspaper a quotation from the Census and Statistics Department: Statistics for 1946; “Since 1935 cows in milk declined from 1,802,773 to 1,660,000 in 1946. Pigs from 800,802 to 549,000. Wheat: The Director of Stabilisation said: “The world wheat situation is likely to be difficult again this year.” The area under wheat in New Zealand for the 1946-47 season is said to be the smallest on record. The Government refused to increase the price to New Zealand producers beyond 7s Id per bushel which, under existing conditions, is uneconomical to many would-be growers but complacently pays approximately 11s per bushel for Australian and 12s 5d for Canadian landed in New Zealand.

The dairy and pig-meat industry must and will continue to decline if for no other reason than that it will be impossible for dairy-farmers to secure adequate labour. It is all a matter of price and costs and taking the rate of pay and conditions obtaining on the water-front as a basis it is quite impossible for the primary producer to compete under present prices. The display advertising put out by the Government urging primary producers "to keep production high” is splendidly designed and clearly worded but, unfortunately, it is not sincere. It is designed to deceive the public into believing that the Government is out to help and encourage primary production but every farmer knows that he has experienced nothing but discouragement and frustration right throughout the piece, from the Government. It must be conceded to the Labour Party that in the matter of publicity and propaganda they are past masters and leave their opponents standing. Sometime ago we read that the Federated Farmers had collected a large sum of money for a publicity campaign but so far not one word have we seen in reply to the Labour Government’s advertising.—l am, etc, “KORO KO-RO.”