No smokeless fuel study envisaged

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33874, 20 June 1975, Page 1

No smokeless fuel study envisaged

No investigations are in progress, nor are they envisaged by the Government, to see if a smokeless solid fuel industry can be established, using coal, according to the Minister of Health (Mr McGuigan).

He said this in a letter received by the Waimairi County Council at its meeting last evening, in reply to a letter from the council asking what steps the Govern- •

meat proposed to take to help in the creation of clean air zones. “The provision of financial assistance to encourage local authorities to establish clean air .zones where they are needed has been under examination by the Government for some time,” he said.

“I hope to place before the Cabinet in the near future proposals which will assist people who are required to replace unsatisfactory domestic heating appliances.” The Minister said that the Clean Air Council was preparing a list of approved

heating appliances and fuels for use in clean air zones. Adequate powers existed to suspend or modify the provisions of the Clean Air Act and clean air zones. In 1970, the Minister said, the Board of Health had found that the manufacture of a smokeless fuel could not be justified because of the small and scattered nature of the New Zealand domestic market. There was, however, a company investigating land south of Westport where coal approaching anthracite in type had been found. Indications were that this coal would have to be briquetted because of its crushed nature. The council also asked the Minister of Electricity (Mr Bailey) to give an assurance that an adequate supply of electricity would be available for home heating. The Minister said that in the long term, planning was on the basis of unrestricted supply, but conservative measures would be adopted to slow up the rate of growth in the demand for electricity. Moves in this direction were the home insulation scheme, and the insulation of State houses, said the Minister. He expected that other examples would be improved efficiency for electric heating, improved insulation and control of home hot-water systems, and better design of appliances. It was hoped, through voluntary’ power savings, to avoid anomalies and spread inconvenience, and, said the Minister, he hoped that these savings would be satisfactory and that compulsory restrictions would be necessary.

The council decided to await information on the Government’s financial proposals for achieving clean air zones.