TIMBER CRISIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 64, 17 March 1930, Page 3

TIMBER CRISIS.

STRANGLING INDUSTRY. OPINIONS OF SAWMILLERS. ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE. That the timber industry in this Dominion can be made a large and permanent one, employing many thousands of workers, is the opinion of the sawmillers in the King Country and on the Rotorua line. But, according to information gleaned by a "Star" representative, past and present methods of dealing with it are all in favour of strangling the mills and encouraging foreign importations. "There is the political factor also," said a prominent sawmill owner, when discussing the subject. "The Reform Government did not help the timber industry. It built State mills, which competed -with private enterprise, and railway freights were increased on timber while they-were lowered on farm products and fertilisers. But both are products of the soil. The farmers are giving employment to much less labour than the timber industry. At present about 80 per cent of the cost of producing timber goes in labour, and the men who benefit by the employment are those in the backblocks, where they have been pioneers in settling bush lands. It is the very fact of the stability of the backblock timber workers that has_ kept them free from taking part or assisting in strikes. That fact has been fully appreciated by the employers. Saddled With Burdens. "The timber industry has been saddled with so many burdens and restrictions at various times that it is just on the verge of collapse," he continued. "It is all very well to talk of building up industries to give work for unemployed; but it deserves first consideration to hold together an industry now in existence. Its continuance is of vital importance to the working of forestry plantations, and there is no inducement for private companies to plant trees with the present outlook." Recently Mr. Odlin, chairman of the Timber Merchants' Association, stated that he could not see the possibility of cheaper timber being produced in New Zealand, said another prominent member of the Sawmillers' Federation. "Well I entirely disagree with him. To-day most of the mills in New Zealand are working half-time, and that, is the greatest handicap to cheap production. Foreign importations are responsible for that state of affairs. New Zealand mills have been loaded up with stocks even when there were great demands for timber. Even last year the amount of foreign soft wood which came into this country represented an increase of 4,000,000 feet. There is no mistaking the fact that any boom in timber requirements as things are at present, will be one for the foreign article and not to Dominion mills." Dominion Timber Pushed Out.' "In a recent statement the Commissioner of State Forests (the Hon. W. B. Taverner) expressed the hope that more New Zealand timber would be sold in Australia in place of Scandinavian and North American products," said Jlr. G. A. Gamman, the well-known Ohakune and Mamaku mill owner, when approached for his opinion. "To compete with those timbers in Australia that from New Zealand would be still further saddled with 6/ steamer freight. Yet oil account of present high railway freights, we are unable to compete with those very same foreign importations here. There is not the slightest doubt that New Zealand timbers are gradually but surely being pushed out in favour of the imported article. It is a wellknown fact that our timbers are among the finest in the world for building purposes, and, yet there are millions upon millions of feet stacked away in mills all over the Dominion with no sale for it. In our mill at Mamaku alone there is a total of over 2.000,000 ft stacked and we can't sell a foot of it. Railway freight and other charges have made sales prohibitive."