THIRD N.Z. AIRPORT

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30264, 17 October 1963, Page 16

THIRD N.Z. AIRPORT

Farmers Want Freight Centre

(N.Z. Press Association) WANGANUI, Oct. 16. Before anything further is done about the establishment of a third international airport in New Zealand, Wanganui Federated Farmers want the claims of Palmerston North investigated as a meat air-freighting centre for the North Island.

At a meeting of the provincial executive today, opinions were expressed against locating an international airport at Paraparaumu. “There were a lot of people against building Wellington airport where they put it, but there were some with sufficient pull to get it there,” said Mr N. Parsons. “Now, when they realise what they’ve got, they want to go out to Paraparaumu and put an airport there right under the mountains.

“I don’t want to be parochial, but we should decide two things before we go any futher —whether we want a third international airport and where should it be. “In my opinion the centre of the North Island is Palmerston North. We all know that it won’t be very long before we will be air-freight-ing our meat to overseas markets, and Palmerston North is the centre for some 10 to 12 freezing works.” Mr Parsons's motion that Palmerston North’s claim to become the main air-freight-ing centre for meat exports in the North Island be examined before any decisions are made about the site of a new international airport, was carried.