The Press TUESDAY, MAY 24, 1955. Fuel and Power

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27666, 24 May 1955, Page 12

The Press TUESDAY, MAY 24, 1955. Fuel and Power

The sub-committee appointed by the Royal Society of New Zealand to study fuel and power production in New Zealand has produced a first report which, for good reasons, covers the whole field merely in general terms, and I takes as its chief theme a practical method by which wider and thoroughly detailed study can best be made. A technical council to investigate facts is suggested. The sub-committee considers that the council should have enough money at its disposal both to pursue its own inquiries and to sponsor and financially assist investigational work by appropriate bodies. This method is thought preferable to the establishment of a ministry of fuel and power, as in England, a Royal Commission, or a government interdepartmental committee. A committee similar to that suggested has been established in South Africa

and is thought to be well suited to New Zealand’s needs, chiefly because the other methods examined would be “ too slow and circumscribed for “ the action that seems desirable ”. Any firm judgment on the proposed method must be reserved; its merit cannot be assessed until more is known about the proposed technical council. Presumably this will* be when another report is made by a committee that the Royal Society has instructed to devise ways and means of forming a technical council. Obviously, an effective advisory technical council on fuel and power would have to be an authoritative body, with strength and prestige, if for no other reason than that its advice would in effect be tendered to the Government and might '.veil conflict with advice tendered by government departments. Some of its opinions might, for example, conflict with opinions held by the State Hydro-electric Department, but favour views held by the Mines Department, which is vitally concerned with the utilisation of coal. Neither department is directly interested in the application of atomic energy to power production in New Zealand. In the public

interest, a fuel and power council might have to press for action against resistance by powerful departments and their ministers. Indeed, it seems that in the long run a fuel and power council that fulfilled its functions would inevitably evolve into a supradepartmental body, which, necessarily, would be headed by a Minister of Fuel and Power. Preliminary investigation is certainly more desirable than a decisive but premature step. The next report from the Royal Society, which should give more information about the proposed technical council, will be awaited with much interest. The value of the inquiry the Royal Society is making is undeniable. It is now clearly apparent that New Zealand’s sources of energy are far from abundant. In terms of expected population and current methods of usage, the end of the North Island’s water resources is in sight. In the South Island water resources are abundant; but if present trends continue, the question of their utilisation must increasingly become one of balancing development with the drain that development imposes upon the nation’s financial resources. In respect of both North Island and South Island water power resources, therefore, conservation is important and should be a matter of first-rank public policy. The best methods of conservation, the Royal Society’s report emphasises, are the use of the several available sources of energy in an efficiently constructed pattern. Allied to this must be avoidance of waste and of uneconomic usage of energy. The report shows certain clear paths to better utilisation of available power sources; a more extensive and more detailed study would show others. Three years ago there were signs that the present Government realised the nature of the overall problem. At that time the Prime Minister announced that the Government was considering setting up a fuel and power authority to make the available resources of fuel, light, and power go as far as possible. But nothing except the Royal Society’s inquiry seems to have been done to ensure that the country’s power resources are prudently used. The society's next report should give the Government a useful lead.