New W.O.F. system announced

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 7

New W.O.F. system announced

PA Tauranga Plans for a new warrant of fitness system for all motorvehicles have been announced . by the Ministry of Energy. The new warrants, which will be introduced from April 1, 1982 are tied to a contingency plan for fuel rationing which the Ministry has drawn up against the possibility of disruption to New Zealand’s fuel supplies. Details of the scheme have been supplied to local authorities round New Zealand during the last two weeks. At the heart of the scheme is a plan to issue warrants of fitness in two parts. One part will be fixed to vehicle windscreens as at present and the duplicate part will be held by the owner of the vehicle.

If fuel rationing is introduced, the duplicate part would have to be presented along with a vehicle’s ownership papers and a current driver’s licence in order to obtain petrol coupon entitlements.

The move appears to be an attempt by the Ministry to ensure that under any rationing system fuel will be made available only for licensed and road-worthy vehicles. This would eliminate the opportunity for people to buy registered but derelict old cars and lay them up in order to obtain extra fuel entitlements. In its circular to local

authorities, the Ministry said that it had been preparing the proposed petrol-rationing system for use in circumstances where a “drastic reduction in supply develops and is expected to last for a considerable period.” The Government wished to have such a scheme ready to be put into effect and was introducing those elements of the scheme which could be put into effect at short notice.

The Ministry made, reference to events which could lead to sharp reductions in fuel supplies, nor whether financial as well as physical circumstances may be taken into account.

It said, “one such element (which can be introduced in advance) is the duplicate warrants of fitness scheme.; This is of particular application to private motorists and the allocation of their particular entitlements to petrol under rationing; However, it,; is necessary the scheme be applied generally.

“Briefly, in a situation of rationing, applicants for an ordinary-user ration will have to establish that they have in their charge a roadworthy vehicle which they are able to drive.”

A document accompanying the circular sets out the mechanics of the rationing plan and indicates that there would be a national reserve of 100 million litres of petrol to be held for direct emergencies.

There would be five categories of fuel user. The first three categories would cover essential users, emergency services, energy production, public health, and national security and another would involve a supplementary pool of fuel for cases of proven extreme hardship. Business firms, public services, and some voluntary organisations would be classed as "priority users.”

The private motorist comes at the bottom of the list. The plan suggests that the pool of fuel for private motorists would be determined by what was left after the other categories’ needs were met and that a private motorist’s ration would be on an entitlement basis, not according to the motorist’s needs.