QUESTION OF TENDERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 288, 16 September 1933, Page 6

QUESTION OF TENDERS.

NEW STATION FOR WELLINGTON.

GOVERNMENT AND MANUFACTURERS.

(Per Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 15' :

Correspondent with regard to tenders for the new railway station in Wellington has been handed to the Press by the Manufacturers' Federation.

The first letter, which was from the Federation to the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, sets out certain terms in the specifications which the Federation thought favoured overseas competitors to an extent that would shut out Dominion manufacturers altogether, and were contrary to the conditions adopted by the Public Works Department, and the Stores Control Board, which invariably stipulate that the Dominion and overseas be placed on the same level as regards exchange, customs and sales tax.

The Board's specifications, it was stated, appeared to be designed to eliminate the New Zealand producer by exempting overseas competitors from payment of exchange, primage and sales tax.

Mr Coates, in reply,' said he had forwarded the letter to the Board, and added that the Government had no intention of departing from its policy of giving • the best possible consideration to local industries that circumstances reasonably permit, and he did not draw any inference from the facts enumerated in the letter that would lead him to think the Board intended to depart from that line of action. Ma* Campbell, president of the Federation, replied that the Federation's fears were not allayed.

There followed a letter from the General Manager of Railways setting out that the Board had continued the Government's general policy and it was felt that in actual' practice no real difficulty would be encountered in applying the policy to the Wellington station contract.