Labour Wants Price Control Widened

Wanganui Chronicle, 26 February 1947, Page 5

Labour Wants Price Control Widened

(P.A.) Wellington, Feb. 25 That the whole of the personnel of the Price Tribunal should be changed, is a suggestion made by the National Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour.

In its statement it makes suggestions for revision o£ price control, its extension to non-essential foods, stricter control of subsidised industries, and public hearings of important applications lor vice increases. ■While the Price Tribunal has made a reasonably good job of price control, we believe that with stronger personnel it could have done much better," the statement says. “If suggestions for improvement of price control are to be carried out, the Price Tribunal's job will become much more onerous, and its personnel will have to be very much strengthened. In this direction we recommend that the whole personnel be changed, the utmost publicity should be given to applications for increases and a system ot public hearings of all important applications should be adopted.” The wartime methods of price control were not now adequate. Manufacturers were producing profitable

non-essential goods which were not controled in and labour, materials and plant were not Doing used to the best interests of the people.” AU prices must be so controlled tiiat the bias will be in favour of production of essential commodities,” the statement continues. The time had come to adopt a new “industry” method of price fixing by which prices would be based on costs ol averagely efficient units in each industry. Inefficient units would have to improve, or go out of existence. “In the future control of prices we believe that the financial position of each industry should be taken more closely into account,” the statement goes on. "Where balance-sheets show handsome profits are being made, tiie industry should De required to carry » greater share of costs and the level of prices should correspondingly be restricted.” Subsidies were inseparable from any system of price control, but th«re should be much stricter control ol them, and in future they should be allowed only when an industry could not carry the whole, or part, of its costs. “Where subsidies arc allowed, the Government should insist upon having a measure cf control of lhe kind and quantity r.f goods that are going to be produce I. and the services that are rendered,” says the statement,