PORT OF WANGANUI

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 171, 17 April 1934, Page 10

PORT OF WANGANUI

Restrictions on Shipment of Dairy Produce

BOARD TO TAKE ACTION Dominion Special Service. Wanganui, April 16. It was decided by the Wanganui Harbour Board to-day to place the whole of the facts relative to (he shipment of dairy produce tli rough the Port of Wanganui before Parliament and solicit its aid to counteract the restrictions which enable the Dairy Produce Board and the overseas shipping, companies to prohibit dairy factories from benefiting from what is to them the cheapest port of outlet. The matter arose as the result of lengthy correspondence between the harbour board, the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board, the Overseas Shipowners’ Allotment Committee, and a dairy factory inland from Wanganui which has had its request to ship through that port refused. Tlie correspondent indicated that the particular factory claimed to be able to make a saving of £2OO per annum if it could use Wanganui as its port It even went to the extent of offering to pay transhipment costs, but could not overcome the objection raised by tlie overseas’ shipping companies to using Wanganui as a port. Chairman’s Statement. "This correspondence is a very, potent illustration of the lengths gone to Hi an endeavour to prevent trade from coming to the I’ort of Wanganui, ’ said the chairman of the harbour hoard, Mr. William Morrison. “The inaccurate statements made in the Dairy Board’s letter regarding alleged delays at Wanganui have been completely disproved. Delays to a greater or lesser extent occur at all ports, andwe have the published statement of the secretary to the Dairy Board that considerable delays are experienced at the major ports, due to shortage of insulated railway trucks for the transport of produce from stores to the exporting steamer, and that sometimes there is trouble on the wharves, such as at Wellington recently, when cheese was held 'in insulated wagons for a week. This, to my mind, is quite a good argument why a little more dairy produce .should be allowed to be shipped through,Wanganui. Mr. Green, a member of the Dairy Board, is reported to have spld: "Wanganui was made an exception in the previous freight contract because they were cutting rates. He was not opposed to tlie present suggestion: in fact he was anxious to assist any factory to make savings, but it seemed to him that in doing what they proposed to do they would be assisting Wanganui to cut the rates, possibly to the detriment of Paten and other ports? "If Mr. Green's statement is indicative of the Dairy Board’s attitude it is regrettable that tlie dairy-farmer should be made to suffer financial loss through being prevented from. availing himself of the cheaper storage facilities offered at Wanganui through the low capital costs of its stores and economical working,” Mr. Morrison proceeded. “I have been told that prior to Faster the Tamaroa had 300 tons of cargo to .load at a certain port, and after waiting three days the ship left with SO tons only. But I have not heard of any restriction being placed on that port as a consequence. Several factories which used to ship through Wanganui, representing approximately 2000 tons, have recently changed to Wellington, and a reference to their balance-sheets shows they are paying considerably less for storage than the particular factory which is prohibited from shipping through Wanganui. Additional Lighter. "The refrigerating company has procured' an additional lighter for use at Wanganui, and the company, says that with this extra unit an efficient lighterage service is provided. The harbour board is empowered by law to own and operate cool stores, and the port, bv Order-in-Conneil. has been appointed a grading port, ami the stores grading stores The board is thus legally entitled to engage in the'; industry, but unfortunately it so doing it comes in competition with the cool stores at Wellington, and therein. I think, lies the cause of the restriction on this port. The factory in question which ! s unable to obtain the shipping companies’ con sent to ship through Wanganui, is penalised to the extent of more than £2OO a year, and as its annual output is a mere handful—some three or four lighter loads —it-becomes all the more < . .vu't. to understand t».e 00,.;*-ron of the shipping companies to load this small additional amount of butter, especially so when the shipping companies will apparently load as much other cargo as they can get:

‘‘The position is a serious one from the port's point of view, and I think that ratepayers and the people of the district are entitled th be made aware of the facts, which are a fair indication of the outside influences the port of Wanganui is up against and one of the reasons wily it becomes necessary for the harbour board to collect, a land rate." "There is only one place to tight tins thing out: that is on the floor of the House," said Mr J. T. Hogan. “Parliament will never sanction the unfair tactics of the Dairy Board." Mr. J Robertson: We need not. deceive ourselves Mr. Bernard Shaw would call our cool stores a Communistic concern. We can handle the produce too economically. A decision to lay the correspondence before the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W Forbes, and local members of I’ari'simciit, with a v'ew to obtaining Parliamentary action was arrived at unanimously. '