LAKE MANAPOURI POWER SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25245, 25 July 1947, Page 8

LAKE MANAPOURI POWER SCHEME

CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES PLANNED PETITION PRESENTED TO PARLIAMENT (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, July 24. A licence for a private company to harness the waters of Lake Manapouri and other water power in the Otago fjords to generate 300,000 electrical horse-power was sought in a petition presented in the House of Representatives to-day by Mr T L. Macdonald (Opposition, Wallace). The company, New Zealand Sounds Hydro-electric Concessions, Ltd., sought the use of the power for electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical industries. The petition set out that in 1926 licences for the power scheme were granted by the Government. Relying on thpse licences, the company engaged the services of a geologist, Sir Douglas Mawson. who paid several visits to Great Britain to secure the necessary capital to establish the industries. The capital required was estimated at £8.500,000. An option was granted to a big overseas corporation, which sent to • New Zealand a highly qualified hydroelectric engineer, Mr H. P. Gibbs. He reported favourably on the project, but when he went home to report to his principals in May, 1930 the slump intervened. Nothing further was done for some years, and the licences expired. When an attempt was made to renew them in 1936 the Government refused and had persistently refused since. Government’s Action Criticised The petition claimed the Government's action was harsh, unreason-' able, and against the public interest, - and had committed the country to a negative policy, for which there was no justification. The plan, the petition said was a great endeavour to estab,; lish in the Dominion highly profitable industries of a size and scope never before attempted in the southern hemisphere. Because of the Governments policy it was claimed that water power capable of producing many millions of valuable commodities and contributing very Extensively to the revenue of the country had been permitted to run out to sea, benefiting no one. Such inaction, the petition further claimed, was further to be deplored, because the water power specified was not, and was not likely to be. required for Governmental purposes of adding to the supply of electricity for general consumption. Forerunner to Other Projects The establishment of the great Manapouri enterprise, the petition further claimed, would not only induce a flow of new people, but might reasonably be expected to be the forerunner of other big hydro projects in the fjords of Otago. The petition asked that, in view of these earlier statements the licences be renewed as previously held, for a , period long enough to enable the company to go ahead with its plans. REHABILITATION 'ASSISTANCE BOARD’S REPORT TO PARLIAMENT (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, July 24. “Notwithstanding that the year has been one of record activity, and although in the aggregate the five years of the board’s existence have seen the granting of some 86,000 applications for assistance from former service personnel, much remains to be done, particularly in the provision of homes, farms, and businesses,” states the, an- > nual report of the Rehabilitating, j Bdard, presented to-day in the of Representatives. These comments , appear in a preface to the which adds that where assistance applied for is dependent in whole, tw-C part on procuring commodities services now in short supply, the tinsif.; involved in completing effective Jpos habilitation will necessarily be gCTgg erned by the rate at which goods services become available. “This applies generally to houkmO and farm settlement, and to some w tent to business establishments.” Discussing business loans, the report states that there was still a known;, unsatisfied demand for businessecyi from 1500 former servicemen. In ad-y dition it was estimated that there wBB-'.-.‘ a big potential demand, probably from some thousands who x.-ould dp-"h; sire settlement in businesses when the ] opportunity offered. It was pleasing to ’ record, the report added, that in general those former servicemen who had been assisted into businesses were making satisfactory progress. The report deals fully with housing difficulties now existing, and with education facilities for returned servicemen. It discusses, too, the responsibility it has accepted for post-sec-ondary education and training of children of dead servicemen and those who are totally disabled. The board’s intention was that no child’s prosnects in a trade or profession should be affected by the absence of assistance which might have been available had it not been for the loss suffered through war casualty.