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Official Guide to the Government Court: N.Z. Centennial Exhibition
Industries & Commerce Department
Industries & Commerce Department
The title of the Department indicates the extent of its many activities. Established under the provisions of the Board of Trade Amendment Act, 1923, the Department's principal function in its earlier years was the administration of the Board of Trade Act, 1919, which is described as an Act to make better provision for the maintenance and control of the Industries, Trade and Commerce of New Zealand. Since that time the work of the Department has expanded greatly, and this expansion may generally be measured along with the process of industrialisation and development which has become increasingly manifest to those acquainted with recent history in New Zealand.
In general, the activities of factories, the establishing of new industries, the care and welfare of industries already established all come within the scope of this Department. The fixing of prices and the prevention of profiteering are features of the work undertaken. Of such and similar functions much could be written, although it is not proposed to deal with these in detail, but rather to refer to certain of the major activities.
The Bureau of Industry established under the Industrial Efficiency Act, 1936, was set up to develop industrial structure on the most efficient lines. Under the Act, the Bureau is the authority for the issue of licences for these industries which have been brought within the licensing provisions of the Act. There are nearly 30 such industries, including the soap, footwear, radio, bakery, cement, fishing, pharmacy and petrol-reselling industries. In addition to the licensing of industries, Industrial Plans are prepared for the more efficient organisation of industries on self-governing lines. An industrial plan may be described as a series of codes of conduct and organisation, and, after being accepted by those in an industry, it is embodied in regulations which an industrial committee administers. An industrial committee consists of representatives of various sections of the industry, together with Government nominees representing consumer interests.
Brief reference has already been made to the Board of Trade Act. This Act contains wide powers to enable full information to be obtained on any branch of industry or commerce in New Zealand, either through holding judicial inquiries or page 45 the making of investigations by the Minister or Officers of the Department to whom he may delegate authority. Information obtained in the course of inquiry may be published. Regulations may be made for the prevention of unfair competition, prevention of monopolies, the establishment of fixed or minimum prices for goods or services, the control of differential prices, or the regulation and control of industry in any matter which is deemed necessary for the maintenance of prosperity of those industries and the economic welfare of the Dominion. There is also special provision to prevent profiteering, and prosecutions may be made against persons or firms who charge unreasonably high prices for goods. Under the Act a number of regulations have been made fixing the prices of various commodities, and the powers of price fixation in the Act are of considerable value in the efficient organisation of a number of important industries. Examples of such industries are the wheat, flour, bread, tobacco and fertiliser industries.
Along with the work carried out under the authority of the Acts mentioned, it is the function of the Department to render assistance to industry in the study of technical problems, and the engineering and chemical advisers of the Department are available for this purpose. Their concern is to develop the use of New Zealand raw materials, to explore new fields of industrial expansion, and give consideration to the founding of new industries.
The function of the Department under the Commercial Trusts Act, 1910, are aimed at the repression of monopolies in trade and commerce. A schedule to the Act indicates the nature of the commodities in respect of which commercial trusts are prohibited. The main commodities covered are agricultural implements, coal, oil, and any article of food for human consumption, and the Act makes it an offence to give any concession in consideration of exclusive dealing in those articles or illegally refusing to deal in those articles, or conspiring to create a monopoly which can be interpreted as being contrary to public interest. Problems that arise are subject to negotiation and discussion with all interested parties, and almost invariably practices which might have developed into breaches have been discontinued, and the commercial community and the consuming public have the benefit and protection of the provisions of this important Statute.
The Price Investigation Tribunal appointed in June, 1939, under the provisions of the Board of Trade Act, 1919, is a Judicial Body which is charged, through the powers in the Act and Regulations made under that Act, and the price stabilisation Emergency Regulations made under the Public Safety Conservation Act, 1932, with the duty of exercising continuous supervision and control over prices. Under these latter Regulations, all prices were stabilised at the levels ruling on September 1, 1939, and no increase in prices above those levels can be made except with the approval of the Minister. Such applications to raise prices are subjected to full examination, and approval is given to raise prices only where an increase is found to be fully justified.
Wheat, flour and bread are controlled under Board of Trade Regulations in the interests of fair prices and stable supplies. All milling wheat is purchased by the Wheat Committee at fixed prices, and any deficiencies in the home-grown crop are met by importations of wheat for milling in New Zealand Flour millers buy their wheat from the Wheat Committee, and the Committee distributes and sells the output of the mills. Flour prices are fixed by reference to the cost of wheat used in manufacture, plus an allowance for manufacturing and overhead costs to the miller, and the quality of flour is supervised by the Wheat Committee, each mill being allowed a share of the market. Bread prices are fixed in relation to the price of ingredients and cost of baking. In the price scheme an allowance for delivery costs is made where bread is not sold over the counter.
Under Board of Trade Regulations the supply of gas is controlled to ensure purity, constant pressure and calorific value, and a reasonable price. Gas examiners page 46 maintain a constant watch on the gas supply in the different towns, check it for quality and pressure, while meters are checked to test their accuracy. Prices of gas are watched, and any variation in prices must be authorised by the Minister before being made, authority to vary prices being given only after investigation has proved it to be reasonable.
Fertiliser is an essential for our pastoral industries and is of the greatest importance to those interested in dairy produce, meat or wool. During the nine years in which the Department has exercised supervision over the manufacture and sale of superphosphate, the quantity used has doubled, and, despite certain increases in costs of production, the price to the consumer has been reduced by over 20 per cent.
Prior to the appointment of the Tobacco Board under the Tobacco Growing Industry Act, 1935, conditions in the industry had been in a chaotic condition, owing to the fact that the production of leaf had borne no relation to demand or consumption. Organisation was brought about by the licensing of growers and the control of the sale and purchase of leaf by warrants issued in terms of the Act. Policy matters of vital importance have engaged the attention of the Board, among which were the formulation of a long-range plan for the growing and manufacturing sides of the industry/ the raising of the price paid to growers, the fixation of a minimum price below which leaf cannot be sold, the establishment of standard grades for leaf, and possibly the fixation of prices in relation to such grades, the establishment of a Research Station in the district, and the formulation of a comprehensive research programme.
The Department is responsible for the Cinematograph Films (Issue of Exhibitors' Licences) Regulations. The main feature of the Regulations is the employment of a licensing system in regard to motion-picture theatres. No new theatre can exhibit films without prior consent of a licensing officer. A thorough investigation of the needs of the particular district is carried out by the Department, and the operations of theatres in the immediate vicinity form the subject of examination, taking into account the seating accommodation, the position regarding the supply of films, and the financial return of theatres. In addition, provision exists in the regulations to call upon existing exhibitors to provide modern amenities in their theatres.
One of the most modern aids to industry is the development of standard specifications to simplify and define production, to provide a yard-stick to measure the quality and performance of goods, and to stimulate progress by concentrating effort. The New Zealand Standards Institute, a Division of the Department, makes this service available to the Dominion by providing facilities whereby the consumer, manufacturer, and distributor may have a round-table conference and may voluntarily agree on sizes, materials and strengths and many other characteristics of products. The decisions are reduced to writing and form Standard Specifications and Codes. Since its inception three years ago, the Standards Institute has had Standards agreed upon and promulgated for fencing-wire, hides, hardwood poles, illumination value, the treating of concrete, electric plugs and sockets, portable fire extinguishers, pollard, flushing cisterns, the estimation of acidity in cream, milk and whey, New Zealand building timbers, and for the construction of earthquake-resisting buildings. In addition, 263 British Standard Specifications for all sorts of materials, equipment, and methods of manufacture have been adopted as New Zealand Standards.
Overseas, the Department maintains permanent officers for the development, primarily, of our export trade and, generally, for the guidance and assistance of New Zealand business men; while, in addition, there are Honorary Agents in China, Hong Kong, Ceylon, South Africa, Fiji, and Eastern Canada. The permanent officers stationed in Belgium, Canada, U.S.A., Australia, and in the United Kingdom have directed their attention to the negotiation of Trade Agreements, and their knowledge of trade and financial matters is available to all.
page 47The Department is responsible for the organisation of State displays at major exhibitions within New Zealand, representation at smaller shows and fairs throughout the Dominion, and State participation in overseas exhibitions. Within New Zealand the Department has organised displays of Government Departments at the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, 1939-40, as before in connection with the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, 1925-26. At smaller shows and fairs the Department has participated, the object being to make known the assistance offered by the Department to manufacturers and traders. Overseas the Department has organised State representation at many exhibitions to publicise the Dominion's many attractions— both sporting and scenic—its manufactures, economic resources and cultural achievements. In connection with this work may be mentioned New Zealand representation at the following exhibitions: Wembly, 1924; Johannesburg, 1936; Glasgow, 1938; Golden Gate, 1939; New York World's Fair, 1939, and the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, where the Department has participated on nine occasions since 1926.
At quarterly intervals the Department issues a Bulletin dealing with the Finance, Trade and Industries of the Dominion, the publication being distributed widely both in New Zealand and abroad. Recently the "Directory of New Zealand Manufacturers" was published, and this directory forms a complete record of the various types of products of the factories, and the addresses of the manufacturers concerned.