The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1961. Ripple Control And Import Licences

Press, Volume C, Issue 29671, 15 November 1961, Page 14

The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1961. Ripple Control And Import Licences

The difficulties of administering a comprehensive system of import licensing are well enough understood new for the occasional minor anomaly to cause little surprise. But the prohibition of imports of ripple control relays for domestic water-heaters goes far beyond that. The ban, for which the Government is reported to be responsible, raises two important issues. First, the ban itself should be immediately lifted, so that power supply authorities can control the

uneconomic peak load for power. If the supply authorities cannot do so the State Electricity Department will be faced with huge expense, many times the cort of the relay controls, in building power stations to heat domestic water supplies for a few minutes at 8 a.m., noon, or 5 pun, instead of at some ether time when the demand for power is low. Charges will then have to be raised so that consumers

will individually pay more for the same amount of hot water. New Zealanders collectively will suffer indirectly because of the unnecessary diversion of scarce capital and physical resources to peak load generators. Excepting only essential supplies for

primary production, other imports as important economically as these simple electrical devices can hardly be imagined. The second issue* is probably more significant. What is wrong with a licensing system that can produce results like this? Whoever advised the Government to ban ripple control imports obviously did not understand their purpose. While the whole commerce of the country is tied to licensing, it is essential that the departmental officers who make far-reaching decisions and recommendations should be fully informed of the nature of applications for import licences. Perhaps the Royal Commission on State services, which has had some evidence on this point, will be able to show how the machinery could be improved, not necessarily to work faster—though that, if possible, is highly desirable—but to produce better results. In the meantime the Government and the Public Service Commission should inquire how well, or how badly, other State organisations serve the Customs Department. Are they co-operating intelligently or are they more interested in looking after their own pet projects?