Harbour land to Crown?

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33813, 9 April 1975, Page 18

Harbour land to Crown?

i t.VZ Press Association) WHANGAREI, April 8. The Minister of Transport ■(Sir Basil Arthur) told Northland Harbour Board members tonight that the Labour Government’s proposed New! Zealand maritime commission ! would have the right to allo-1 cate board land back to the' Crown should the Green Paper on transport become law. On Mount Davy coal transport, Sir Basil told board members that he considered ■ shallow draft colliers — not! tugs and barges — would be. the answer to bringing coal ■ : from the West Coast to Mars- i ■ den Point. I “But if there is a big amount of coal for tranship-' ment to be considered, then, !we would obviously have t,oi Irecost the tug-and-barge method.” he said. A board member, Mr J. Carney, told Sir Basil that the board had done the cost-: ing on such a service once before. “We were kidded into' handing over our figures to an inter-Government committee, which passed the figures' on to the Railways Department. Then that department undercut us,” said Mr Carney.