MUNITIONS SUPPLY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 250, 30 July 1940, Page 2

MUNITIONS SUPPLY

FACILITIES IN NEW ZEALAND. POLITICAL CONTROL ALLEGED. (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, .July 27. Mr R. Burn, managing director of the Precision Engineering Company, Wellington, in an interview, said that from the report of the Minister of Supply (Mr D. G. Sullivan) on his visit to Australia it was evident that he or his departmental officers did not, or would not, appreciate that, there were effective and efficient engineering establishments in this country, and a very earnest desire on the part of both employers and employees to work with one another and with the Government in a national effort to produce some, at least, of the munitions we must have.

He complains that the position is fantastic that, while every part of the Empire clamours for munitions, capably organised engineering establishments have been forced into the position of having to put men off, and motor assembly plants are largely unproductive as the result of the petrol restrictions.

He said the outstanding fact of Australia’s policy was that Australia had called in the aid of leading industrialists, aU export body headed by Mr Lewis, the manager of Broken Hill Proprietary, recognised as the leading business man in Australia, The contrast between New Zealand and Australia was that there, there was direct, practical business control and direction, and here political and departmental control.

THE MINISTER REPLIES. DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. WELLINGTON, July 29. In reply to a statement by Mr R!. Burn, of the Precision Engineering Company, regarding the production of munitions in New' Zealand, the Minister for Supply (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said ho understood that a competent engineer, Mr James Cable, who accompanied him to Australia, and there personally investigated Australia’s methods, had publicly referred to some of Mr Burn’s statements as nonsense. “I agree with Mr Cable, and I am sure that everyone engaged in munition production in Australia would also describe Mr Burn’s statements as nonsense,” said Mr Sullivan. “Will Mr Burn ask himself why the great industries of Australia have not yet produced Bren carriers, Bren guns, and many other things so urgently needed by its fighting forces, and why they only very recently got into production on such things as grenades. He does not seem to realise that for making these things, veritably thousands of jigs, tools, guages, and great quantities of special steels are needed; but in spite of months of intense effort aufcH expenditure of (huge sums of money, Australia has not yet been able to produce. I was shown at the railway workshops in Melbourne, where Bren carriers are being made, a, thousand special tools required for that one job ,and these had to be designed from a survey of a model carrier in the shops. I saw in armament factories the production of guns held up for lack of special guages, that up to the present —aid neither be produced nor secured. Al) Facilities To Be Used.

“T.ie assumption by Mr Burn that my 15 minute broadcast a week ago was a lull declaration of the policy of the Government in regard to the production of munitions is equally nonsensical. While in Australia we dealt with hundreds of items coming within the category of munitions, and I could not in an hour, let alone a quarter of an hour, cover reasonably an adequate report of the work done, or the intentions of the Government in connection therewith, and may I say most emphatically that there never has been any intention on the part of the Government to do all munition work in the railway workshops. We will use whatever establishment, private ot public, is most suitable for the job.

“We are not in this issue one little bit concerned about any question of private or public enterprise. (However, I desire to tell Mr Burn that the foundations of the magnificent effort now being made by Australia in the production of munitions —an effort that will be successful—are the great state factories and railway workshops, though quite wisely Mr Essington Lewis is bringing into the scheme all private engineering establishments which can help in the production of parts, which are assembled at the state estab lishments. I honour and admire Australia for the great job she is now doing. We will, to the limit of oui resources, try to emulate her, and 1 am grateful to all her public men, liei great industrialists, and heads of her great state departments, for all ’the assistance they jive prepared to give New Zealand in supplying plans, drawings, specifications, materials, and in some degree fabricated parts. I think it would have been many months, perhaps years, before we could have 'got into production on munitions without such help, and we have reason to be grateful to Australia for the spirit she has displayed towards us in these matters.” / “It is the intention of the Government to utilise the full workshop and factory resources of the Dominion for the making of munitions to limits set by the number of skilled workers available at present, or who can be trained in a reasonable period, and the materials in the 'Dominion or procurable from abroad,” said the Prime Minister, Mr P. Fraser, when commenting in an interview last night. “Mr Burn’s statement will be fully and completely replied to by the Minister of Supply, Mr ID. G. Sullivan, who is at present in Auckland,” Mr Fraser said. “Mr Sullivan has gone into the whole question of the making of munitions in New Zealand, and has investigated the possibilities of obtaining supplies of the necessary materials and component parts from Australia and elsewhere. In the meantime, I need only say that Mr Burn’s remarks are based on an entirely wrong assumption.”