POOLING OF MILK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 143, 18 June 1936, Page 8

POOLING OF MILK.

PROTEST BY VENDORS.

A decision to refuse to enter into any form of consolidation until the whole question of the pooling or zoning of niilk had been settled was made at .» meeting of the Auckland Fresh Milk Producers and Vendors' Association yesterday, the association also decided to submit their books to a solicitor to be dealt with at his discretion, pending a reply from the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, as to whether a milk vendors license can be cancelled for failing to present his book to the Auckland Metropolitan Milk Council for inspection.

Mr. M. P. Welsh, who presided, said that it was for the meeting to say if the Milk Council should have access to the books whether willingly, under protest, or not at all. It appeared that the council's demand was a definite move to bring about zoning, and the vendors had either to fight it or go under. They were agreeable to voluntary consolidation, but were not willing for the title of their rounds to be zoned or pooled or private information divulged.

Mr. G. J. Pickens said that while zoning might be staved off for a year, n6thing the meeting could do would prevent it eventually coming into operation, if not by the Milk Council, then by municipalisation. Municipalisation and zoning, which seemed preferable to the Milk Council's objective, was favoured by the Government. He thought the Milk Council, to save itself from going out of existence, might accept the association's proposals.

Mr. C. M. Mills said that in the past the vendors had been too apathetic. This was the last chance tliey had to fight for their rights.