NEW ZEALAND (XXV, p. 67). – History (p. 75). – The elections to Parliament in November 1935 saw in this Dominion the triumph of Labor who obtained 52 seats against 20 for the ruling party, 8 for the independents and none for the Democrats. The government, chaired by Forbes, had to forcibly resign and was replaced by a purely Labor government chaired by Savage. Immediately this Labor cabinet introduced (January 1936) the 40-hour working week in all public employment. For New Zealand 2004, please check topb2bwebsites.com.
The international tension on the Pacific has induced the government of New Zealand to provide for national defense: in August 1937 the army was reorganized, although the principle of voluntary service remained firm; the motorization system was accelerated, a Defense Council was set up made up of representatives of the army, navy and aviation under the Prime Minister, chaired by the Minister of Defense.
Finance (p. 75). – Below are the balance sheet figures since 1933 (in millions of New Zealand pounds).
As of March 31, 1936, the external debt amounted to 158 million and the internal debt to 130 (of which 128 are consolidated).
On September 21, 1931, with the suspension of convertibility into gold, the New Zealand pound, which since 1930 had lost 10% of its value against the British pound, was followed by the devaluation of the latter. At the beginning of 1933 its rate was then fixed at 125 per 100 pounds sterling, that is, at par with the Australian pound.
The Reserve Bank of NZ, which has been in operation since August 1934, has been transformed into a true state bank since 1 April 1936 and has been given extensive powers of control over the credit system. As of December 31, 1937, the Reserve Bank’s notes amounted to 15.2 million and the reserves at 2.8 million in gold and 17 in foreign exchange. Of the six banks operating in New Zealand, only the Bank of NZ (1860) and the National Bank of NZ (1872) are New Zealanders; the others (B. of New South Wales, B. of Australia, Union B. of Australasia, Commercial B. of Australia) are Australian.
