IRON INDUSTRY IN DOMINION

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22338, 28 February 1938, Page 12

IRON INDUSTRY IN DOMINION

Onekaka Deposits To Be Developed I BILL TO BE PRESENTED WITHIN FORTNIGHT [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.J WELLINGTON, February 27. The Government's decision to go ahead with the establishment of an iron industry in the Dominion was announced by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), when speaking at Featherston on Saturday. Mr Savage revealed further details in an interview later. A bill embodying the proposals is already in the hands of the law draftsman and will be submitted to Parliament durin ; the next two weeks. The iron ore deposits? at Onekaka will be developed extensively. "It is definitely the intention of the Government to establish an iron industry in New Zealand," Mr Savage said. "Recent experiences with important projects held up because of delay in the arrival of iron and steel supplies would alone make this course necessary, but there are obvious other reasons of even greater importance. "At present, there are some difficulties in the way and they must be removed by legislation, before we can proceed. The bill giving effect to the Government's policy is being drafted now and its main provision will be to enable us to go ahead and do the job. For years -there has 'been talk about developing the iron deposits of the Dominion, and it is about time that we stopped talking and did something." The Prime Minister added that the general proposal was to develop the iron deposits at Onekaka, which several times have aroused the interest of overseas experts. He was unable to say where the actual smelting works and mills would be situated once the project is under way, but he said that these and other related matters would be finally determined as soon as the preliminary difficulties had been removed.

Mr Savage was also asked whether the Government would conduct the proposed new industry in its entirety, or whether it would be operated by private enterprise under a licence and on payment of a. royalty to the State. He replied that he was unable to discuss that particular point at the moment, as full details of the bill had still to be discussed at the Government caucus. Hdwever, the actual proposals would be made public soon.