"RUMOURS."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 281, 26 November 1937, Page 14

"RUMOURS."

P.W.D. MACHINERY.

OPPOSITION CRITICS. MR. SEMPLE'S REPLY. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) YVKLUNGTON. Thursday. Predominating in the discussion on the vote of £1 ~">OO.OOO for maintenance of public works and services which arose in the House of Representatives to-day were two questions raised hy the Opposition. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Semple, wa* called upon to explain why the firm of Gough, Gough and Hamer. as agents for an American machinery manufacturing company, had been given preference over other firms in the allocation of orders and why a remission of duty had been made on certain types of machinery imported by this firm.

The Minister denied that preference had been given to any lirm and emphatically declared that all firms had been provided with an opportunity of competing for the supply of machinery required by the Government, tenders having been called. In reply to the other question the Minister said it was u.uial f< r a remission of duty to l>e made on all machinery imjtorted by the Government for public use.

o|iening the Opposition attack, Mr. J. Hargest (National, Awnrua) said that £712,000 had been spent on the purchase of machinery up to April last. YVhv did one firm whitdi was the agent for American machinery get preference? h© asked; and why were most of the types of machines imported by this firm exempted from the payment of Customs duty? The taxpayer was deeply interested, since a remission of taxation to an American firm was implied.

No Charge Made. "I am not making any charge against the Minister, but many extraordinary stories are being put about," added Mr. Hargest. The Rev. Clyde Carr (Government, Timaru) : If you've no charge why bring it up? Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (National, Riecarton): To clean it up.

Mr. Hargest: Yes. To clean things up.

"I know that there have btfn all kinds of rumoura, some cruel and some almost criminal, but I am able to show the country that we are saving New Zealand hundreds of thousands of pounds as the result of the new system of mechinisation we have adopted," said the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Semple. He then repeated a statement he had made earlier in the session, to the effect that, although he was entitled to preside at meetings of the Tenders Board, he had never done so and never would. The engineers were responsible to the Minister for the progress of works, and had a right to select their own machinery conditional upon purchases being by open tender.

Mr. J. Hargest,■ (National. Awarua) said he noticed that the sum of £200.000 —two items of £100.004) each—was in the Consolidated Estimates. He asked the Minister for full details of the expenditure of £712.000.

Mr. Kyle: They'll get it on time payment. or validate it like the Picot Brother*' purchase.

The Minister said that, in addition to the sums provided on the Estimates now under discussion, other items would be included in the Supplementary Estimates. Cost to Date. Mr. Kyle said the country should l>e informed the cost to date of the machinery imported. The officers of the Department would he able to supply tho information. "Did the contract price include the Customs duty?" he asked. The Minister replied that it had always been the custom for machinery required by the Government to !>e admitted free. "That is all that ha« hnp|iencd here." he said. "We do not pav Customs duty."

Mr. Kvle: Do tbey pay? The Minister: No. Mr. Kyle: Did thev have it in the contract price ?

The Min'ster said that any firm in the world could submit a tender in reply to an advertisement. If the Government accepted a tender for machinery from any country or firm it would be treated the same as that of the company supplying the machinery under discussion. The Minister of Customs knew that application was mod" to him in strict conformity with the law. Concession Procedure. The procedure for securing the Customs concession on the machinery was explained by the Minister of Customs, Mr. Xash. He said that if an importer considered that a certain type of machine could' not be purchased in the United Kingdom he could make application for its importation from a foreign country at the British rate of duty. He was then asked to prove that a similar machine could not be imported from Britain. This was submitted to the British Trade Commissioner, who in turn consulted the Board of Trade, who made inquiries to find out if the required machine was l>eing manufactured. Only after this procedure was the concession granted.

When such a concession was made it was advertised in the "Gazette." The purpose of this was to enable any person wishing to import similar machinery to do so at the British rate. Tt was the fairest procedure that could be worked out. and was the procedure followed in the importation of the machinery mentioned by Mr. Hargest.