Call for more detail on tower contracts

Press, 9 November 1983, Page 7

Call for more detail on tower contracts

A request under the Official Information Act was made yesterday in an attempt to get more information about the awarding of three New Zealand Electricity Division contracts to Japanese engineering companies. The request was made by Mr P. C. Wiseley, the manager of Hot Dip Galvanisers (Christchurch) Ltd, who last Friday complained to the Comptroller of Customs about alleged dumping by the Japanese companies which have been awarded contracts to supply transmission towers for Southland and Taranaki. Mr Wiseley said that he had been assured by the office of the Minister of Energy that he would be able to obtain information about the contracts from the N.Z.E.D., but all it had given him was the names of the successful tenderers. “It does not give a New Zealand manufacturer much of an opportunity to look at his costings, nor whether duty was applied and at what rate,” he said. “Normally with Ministry of Works contracts the successful tenderer’s bid is given to all the unsuccessful tenderers. I don’t see why it should not be done here too.

“It angers me when we are making redundant some

110 Christchurch workers at a cost to the taxpayer of $ll,OOO a week and we still continue to purchase offshore. “What happened to ‘Come on New Zealand’ and ‘Support New Zealand’. campaign that was in the news some two years ago and all members of Government supported and wished to be associated with?” he said. The stores manager of N.Z.E.D., Mr A. A. Roper, said yesterday that in general most items were bought in New Zealand. One of the reasons that N.Z.E.D. had bought a transmission tower design from Japan was to see if there was a capability within New Zealand to make them. In the past N.Z.E.D. had found that the design factor had been an impediment to local engineering firms, he said. A New Zealand firm called William Cable had specialised in making towers until it had decided in the 1950 s that it was uneconomic. “They are not easy to make,” he said. When evaluating tenders N.Z.E.D. looked at technical compliance, costing, and duty.

If the cost differences between the New Zealand bids and overseas bids were

large or unacceptable, N.Z.E.D. then applied for the equivalent of an import licence. “In all of these things a degree of preference is given to New Zealand industry,” said Mr Roper. A standing group, called the import control committee, comprising the secretary of the Government Stores Board and representatives of the Treasury, Customs Department, and Trade and Industry Department has the power to approve or reject requests from Government departments for permission to import materials . from overseas. The Stores Board secretary, Mr Tony Bowles, is the chairman of that committee. He said from Wellington yesterday that a preference was given to local manufacturers when the committee considered applications. “We do look at socioeconomic factors,” he said. The committee has a set of guidelines given it by the Cabinet economic committee. The guidelines are reviewed from time to time. When local manufacturers were competing with indented offers the committee looked closely at the situation, said Mr Bowles.