HARBOUR CONTROVERSY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 53, 19 October 1949, Page 4

HARBOUR CONTROVERSY

Sir,—We have been reading quite a lot of controversy in your' paper recently concerning the prospects of a harbour at Whakatane or at Tauranga. Would you kindly publish in your paper for the benefit of your many readers, maps of the two proposals and the areas which these harbours will serve. Possibly it will be more convenient for you to make this over two days. Yours etc., INTERESTED FARMER. We would be happy to be able to comply with this request, but have. no block-making facilities here. However, it might be possible to get an illustration of the Whakatane Harbour plan later. Editor.

Sir, —I attended the Rotorua conference called to discuss a port for the Bay as the leader of a farmers’ delegation of Federated Farmers and Farmers’ Union, Bay of Plenty Sub-Province, Auckland Province F.F., the delegation numbering eight. I feel that I am in the position to voice an opinion, particularly as we had no personal or parochial axe to grind. It is my opinion that the comments made in Wednesday’s Beacon by various other persons who were there were quite correct. There was definitely no real discussion as regards the merits or otherwise of any alternate schemes, and very few facts were gone into regarding the proposed Tauranga port. There was no real discussion on the proposed Freezing and Fertiliser Works. The costs and the possible effect on existing works were never gone into, nor were the effects on the producer whether they would be for his good or somebody else’s.

All these matters should have been placed before the conference, especially as certain persons have been trying to make it appear that the whole Bay is in favour of these things without the rank and file knowing what was going o L We as a body are not so much concerned as to where the port is going to be. The Government, whoever that may be, is going to provide that port in order to ship all its timber. Where it goes is for the experts to decide. . The tactics used at Rotorua were bad, and will net likely do much good. What we are concerned with is who is going to put up the works and control them? What benefit will the people in the area concerned get, how will it affect existing works and farmers, and who will pay. We are opposed to any further rating of the land for this purpose. The user should pay according to his use, and let the country as a whole back what is a national undertaking. Yours etc., R. W. DUNNING.