Manufacturers Criticise Railways Bill

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30269, 23 October 1963, Page 21

Manufacturers Criticise Railways Bill

The Railways Amendment Bill apparently gave the Minister of Railways authority to make his terms exempting the Crown from claims for damage to goods in ports such as Lyttelton in the loading and unloading from ship to rail, the president of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr R. G. Pearce) said at a meeting of the association’s council. This was a development in a frustrating set of conditions that had existed between Lyttelton and Christchurch for a long time,” he said.

Mr J. K. Dobson said that the association had hoped to get back from the railways just the opposite of what was contained in the bill (particularly clause 3) dealing with conditions for the carriage of goods. “It looks as if we have livened up the hornet’s nest, and he (the Minister) is going to make sure we can't get through to him,” he said. Mr Dobson said that the bill virtually absolved the railways from any liability. He understood that now it was law.

Mr Pearce said that probably Christchurch was more affected than other parts of New Zealand.

The council was considering a letter from the secretary of the New Zealand

Manufacturers' Federation (Mr A. R. Dellow) setting out what he considered were dangers in the bill The federation had already told the Minister (Mr McAlpine) that the provisions on damage to goods were unfair, and that the federation did not support their being written into the law.

The council unanimously agreed to make its own representations direct to the Minister.