TRADE CAR BAN

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31062, 18 May 1966, Page 3

TRADE CAR BAN

Protest From Retailers (N.Z. Press Association) BLENHEIM, May 17. The Blenheim branch of the Retail Motor Trade Association will send letters of protest to the Prime Minister, to the Minister of Transport, and to the member for Marlborough, the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) on the Government’s attitude and alleged apathy toward the dispute about the shipment of trade cars in the Aramoana. Delivering the vehicles through Nelson added to their cost, which would be even more if the railways transported the cars on waggons, the retailers said. While so far this extra cost had been met by the South Island dealers that cost would be equalised all over New Zealand and Auckland buyers would also have to pay more for their new cars.

It was absurd that other, more expensive methods of transport had to be used to ship trade cars across Cook Strait when the Aramoana could handle their transport efficiently. The branch members said they did not want to see any scheme in which the railways took over the transportation of the cars on rail waggons. Not only would the cost be too high, but this method was also liable to damage cars.