Title: War Economy

Author: Baker, J. V. T.

Publication details: Historical Publications Branch, 1965, Wellington

Part of: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945

This text is the subject of: ‘Something of Them Is Here Recorded’: Official History in New Zealand

Conditions of use

The Crisis Passes

Eventually the southward push of the Japanese in the Pacific was slowed up and stopped. As early as the end of 1942, the Chiefs of Staff had been able to report that an invasion of New Zealand could no longer be regarded as even a ‘remote probability’.¹

The home army was allowed to decline progressively in numbers from its peak in September 1942.

The critical stage of defence construction work had passed, but for some time there were to remain considerable strains on the building and construction industry. A large programme of defence works remained to be done and stocks of many materials had been depleted in the critical period. Moreover, much important civilian work had fallen into arrears and would soon have to receive higher priority in the construction programme.

Urgent work still to be done included expansion of munitions manufacturing, linen flax factories, food-processing and canning factories, export storage space and the development of hydro-electric schemes to meet the growing shortage of electric power.

Labour regulations were also broadened in their scope. With the decreasing proportion of military work being carried out, the special working conditions on this work tended to cause friction when it was done alongside other work where the requirements were less rigid. In June 1943 the order fixing conditions for defence construction work gave way to a more general order covering a wide range of defence and civilian priority work.² A minimum 48-hour week was to apply. On this broader front, the Building Controller continued to decide priorities and to control the issue of permits.