Evening star., 1944-02-06
Ne,u Zealand Economy Planned
Governments Controls Wide and Costly in Many Fields

and the doctor forwards to the social
security authorities list Of the patients
he has accepted. For each OF these he
receives capitation fee of Is shillings
tabout $3.50 at the present exchange
rate) year, plus mileage fees, or, al
Tentatively, he may receive pay OF 7
shillings pence for each visit or con-
sultation, with the addition of shillings
If the service is provided at night or on
Sundey
The doctor may collect his service fee
from the state, or, If he prefers, may
claim direct payment from the patient,
who in turn can recover the approved
amount from the state. The patient
may pay more than the fixed fee If he
desires, but the doctor has no legal
claim to more. Operations and certain
specialist services are excluded from the
provisions of the act.
The cost of New Zealand's social serv-
Ices is financed in part out of a 5 per
cent levy on individual and corporation
income. To the extent that this falls
to meet the requirements of the pro-
RcIlcTdl
taxation revenues. The total annual
cost runs to about $88 500 900, which, as
Nash says, "is on any comparative basis,
large sum for country with a popu-
lation Of less than one and three-uuarter
millions"
The New Zealand Government owns
railways, electric power stations, hos
pitals (only 10 per cent of the hospitals
In the country are private institutions;
coal mines, central bank, fire, accident
and life insurance Offices; hotels and
health resorts, post, telegraph and
broadcasting services. The marketing
of all dairy products. which represent
two-flfths Of the entire export trade of
the country, is handled by the govern
ment under a guaranteed-price system
put into effect in 1886. Nash was largely
responsible for this measure, which
Estorick cites "as one Of the most prac-
tical and solid achievements Of the
labor government"
Unions Allied With Court.
Unionism in New Zealand is closely
associated with national Arbitration
Court which hands down binding de-
crees on wages and working conditions.
Some OF the organized workers. mi
nority-have elected to remain outside
the scope of the court, and many seri-
Gus strikes have occurred" but, says
Nash, the court with its compulsory
arbitration machinery has minimized
industrial friction and obtained bene-
f1ts for large sections of organized labor
which otherwise they would have been
denied
All but "a very small reactionary mi
nority," Nash says, today recognize trade
unions as essential to the orderly func-
tioning OF government and industry.
Since 1886 the closed shop has had legal
sanction, and membership in a union
Is compulsory for workers in any in
dustry subject to an award registered
with the Arbitration Court. The basic
difference between unionism in the
United States and in New Zealand, Nash
says is that organized labor in this
country has relied mainly on industrial
action and in the dominion on political
action.
Nash has long been preaching the
necessity for hard specific thinking"
about the economic structure of the
world after the war.
Seeks Understanding Now.
Economic questions" he writes, "go
very deep into the realities of life. They
are questions on which feeling can run
very high and expression can be very
bitter. We (the United Nations) must,
therefore, try to solve them while we
are still welded together by the sense
pose :.
Either We use some of the power
implicit in our separate sovereignties to
achieve unity-unity for the purpose of
achieving security, for achieving a fair
distribution Of the worlds resources, for
maximum production and for maximum
trade, just as we unite to ensure in
dividual freedom and security internally
Or again the old evils in an aggravated
form will reappear and the good will
perish"
Again: "The first condition to be met
is greater economic security and higher
standards of living for the common
people of all lands
The magnitude of New Zealand's con-
tribution to the war, plus the fortnight
ness and unquestioned sincerity of Min
lister Nash, will give that country an
influence at the peace table out of all
proportion to its size. For this reason
if for no other, his blueprints from
the social and economic laboratory of
his country are worth attention.
printed by Special Arrangement With The st.
Louis Post-Dispatch)