PROSPECTING FOR OIL

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22269, 7 December 1937, Page 12

PROSPECTING FOR OIL

♦ OVERSEAS CAPITAL READY MINISTER RECEIVES ASSURANCE* "GREATEST EFFORT IN NEW ZEALAND HISTORY" (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.l WELLINGTON, December 6. "I have an assurance that when this bill becomes law a real worth-while effort will be made to find out whether we have flow oil in New Zealand in payable quantities," said the Minister for Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb), when opening the second-reading debate on the Petroleum Bill in the House of Representatives to-dajt. Mr Webb made a strong appeal to the House to consider the bill in a nonparoehiaL spirit, claiming that in view of the importance of any find of oil in quantities in the Dominion the legislation was among the most important that had been dealt with by the present Parliament.

"The discovery of commercial flow oil would provide one of the greatest stimulants to industrial development in ■■ New Zealand," Mr Webb said. "Whether we have it here in payable quantities is not for me to suggest. It suffices for me to say that under the present laws an adequate search for oil is not being made. It is quite impossible for a small enterprise, with antiquated plant, to find out definitely whether we have oil in any quantities."

Copying English Act Mr Webb said that the situation had to be approached in either one of two ways. The State would have to set out to explore for oil, or the State would have to make it sufficiently at•tractive for private enterprise to become interested. He had realised at the same time that if private enterprise failed to prospect adequately, he would have no compunc*ion in asking the Government to undertake the task. The first problem he had been faced with was the multiplicity of small private owners of likely land with whom private enterprise would have to enter into negotiation before ing the search. It was then decided to overcome that problem by copying the English act, and granting licences for large areas. The Government had realised that the first thing to do was to clear the decks of obstacles in the way of large-scale prospecting. Mr Webb said that in England the principle had been laid down that oil was not private property until taken up from the earth because of its migratory mature underground. In New Zealand it had had to be laid down in preparing the bill that it was a fundamental principle that as long as nothing was being taken from the people without compensation, the English principle would have to be followed. Western Australia had copied the English act, and had laid it down that oil found in the state belonged to the Crown. Victoria had followed suit. In those three parts of the Empir, where the legislature had discussed the proposals it had been agreed on both sides that oil belonged to the Crown, and that the owners of land had no right to it, not knowing that it was there, and holding no responsibility in it. Amendments Adopted

The Minister explained that many amendments had been made to the bill, and he was sure that it had been improved. To Mr W. J. Poison (National, Stratford) he said that the suggested amendments by the New Zealand Farmers' Union had been adopted sufficiently to meet the requirements of the union as advanced by the president (Mr W. W. Mulholland). He paid a tribute to the co-operation of the union and its officials. "The bill makes it clear that before the Government allows one gallon of oil to be exported from New Zealand the requirements of local markets have to be met," Mr Webb said. "That means that refineries will have to be established, the necessary staff employed, and everything done to provide local requirements in motive power" » . Native Rights

• Dealing . with questions which have been raised about native rights, Mr Webb emphasised that there was no member of his Government Who would not go to the furthest possible extent to protect the rights of the Maoris. To suggest, as was being done, that there should be two sets of laws in New Zealand—one for the Maori and "one for the pakeha—was foreign to the polities of the country. Clause 3; of the Treaty of Waitangi made that plain. <; Oil, because it was migratory, was in a different category from coal and cither minerals.- ■. The bill did not interfere with the private ownership of minerals already contained In different leases; but the ""Government did think that if it expended, a great deal of money in searching for flow oil, then the oil belonged to the people. The Maori would benefit equally with the pakeha in that discovery. He had been informed that when the bill became law, one of the greatest prospecting - efforts in the history of the Dominion would be started. There Would be capital from overseas and England ready for use in that direction once the decks were cleared. In .concluding hia speech, the Minister again emphasised that the bill would not in any shape take one penny from the native, race, nor one penny from freehold. If private enterprise would not make a serious effort to prospect for oil, he believed that it was of sufficient importance to ask the Government to do the job itself; but private enterprise must be given the right first. However, he would not suggest that anyone should go along with "five shillings" and- hold up the scheme indefinitely. That was why the deposits mentioned in the bill had been decided on.