Minister Sees Benmore As Opportunity For S.I.

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28700, 25 September 1958, Page 14

Minister Sees Benmore As Opportunity For S.I.

(From Our Own Reporter)

OTEMATATA, Sept. 24'

Benmore was a challenge to the South Island—it was the opportunity the South. Island was waiting for, said the Minister of State Electricity (Mr Watt) at Otematata this evening. “The Government is prepared to encourage industry in the South Island—we must encourage the development of the South Island—and to provide power at the cheapest possible price. We throw out a challenge to the South Island to take advantage of this opportunity.’’ Mr Watt was speaking at the opening of ■ the New Zealand Workers’ Union canteen in the growing project village. He was making his first visit to the £36,000,000 scheme and his first speech as Minister of State Electricity. There were people who said that when Benmore was completed it would provide more power than the South Island would need, he said. That could perhaps be shown by figures, and was itself a challenge to the South Island to develop its industrial capacity. The nation was going through a crisis and the Government’s power policy had been designed to save overseas funds while continuing with the construction of urgently needed projects in the North Island and pressing on with Benmore. This scheme, he said, should be producing power by 1965 as scheduled. Ultimately there would be a connexion between the North and South Islands. “I am not going to condemn the principle of the Cook Strait cable—it warrants further inquiry—'but when a nation suffers a reduction of its income by one fifth some money must be saved somewhere. The cheapest power we can productin New Zealand can be produced right here at Benmore.”

The creation of the portfolio ol Minister of State Electricity which had been approved by the Gov-ernor-General this week was a recognition of the importance of electrical power in the development of New Zealand. Ultimately he hoped it would be expanded to become a Ministry of Fuel and Power.

The great advances in conditions on public works projects were mentioned by Mr Watt when he recalled the construction camps of 30 years ago. “They were under canvas in those days and you were lucky if you had a wooden floor to your tent.” Otematata v)as going to be different, and in a tour of the partly completed village today he had been most impressed, but certain improvements would be needed soon.

“I am glad to see you have those water trucks on the road. I’ve seen your dust, I’ve tasted

your dust, and I don’t like yotir damn dust.” The engineer in chief of the Ministry of Works (Mr C. W. O. Turner) had told him that a sealing contract had been let and that “if they don’t start in a fortnight we’ll do the job ourselves.” There was a huge task in front of those who would be responsible for the construction of the greatest hydro-electric scheme in the Southern Hemisphere, he said. The size of the 480,000 kilowatt scheme and the Waitaki development programme was mentioned by the Ministry of Works resident engineer (Mr M. S. Goddard), who sajd that when all 11 stations were completed their output would be almost double that of Australia’s Snowy river scheme.

Unions had done a great job in New Zealand in the past, and had a great job to do in the future, said Mr T. L. Hayman, member of Parliament for Waitaki. “But now you must take care not to be eroded from below. Tn the past you have been fighting those above but now you are fighting those who would undermine you from below.” The canteen which Mr Watt opened is the first to be run by the union. Just completed—the finishing touches were done todav —it' is one of the Y.M.C.A. huts from Roxburgh which has been shifted here and renovated by the Ministry of Works. It includes a large cafeteriatearooms, snack counter and billiards room and beside it the foundations are already laid for a cinema-meeting hall. The union had always felt, said the national president (Mr F. L. Fenton) that the men in the back blocks had the same right to the amenities of life as the men in the cities. As he put it, “If you can’t bring the job to Cathedral square we believe you should bring Cathedral square to the job.”