AVIATION PROBLEMS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 303, 18 September 1936, Page 8

AVIATION PROBLEMS

Discussion in Wellington With British Expert AUSTRALIAN DELEGATE INVITED An announcement that the Government had invited the Australian Government to send a representative to Wellington to take part in a general discussion on aviation problems with Mr. F. G. L. Bertram, the representative of the-British Air Ministry, who will arrive by the Wanganella next week, was made yesterday by, the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage. He said the conference would discuss aviation' problems generally, including the proposal to establish an air-mail service between Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Savage said that he took It that the report from Canberra that the Commonwealth Minister of Defence (Sir Archdale Parkhill)’ would visit New Zealand was correct.

Other members of- the Australian delegation, who will also arrive by the Wanganella, are: ’ Mr. H. P. Brown, Director-General of Postal Services; Mr. M. L. Shepherd, secretary of the Department of Defence; Captain E. C. Johnston, Con-troller-General of civil aviation; and Mr. M. B. Barry, Chief Inspector of postal services. The outstanding difficulty in coming to an agreement between the Imperial authorities and the Commonwealth on the attractive proposal- to carry all first-clasS-mails by air between Britain, Australia and New Zealand without surcharge has been the charging of a higher rate of postage within Australia than is proposed for the long air route. Internal postage in the Commonwealth is a minimum of 2d. per oz., While the . Imperial scheme provided for the same letter charge as in the United Kingdom of lid. Recently a new organisation was established in Sydney, with influential commercial backing, to agitate for a reduction in postal charges. AUSTRALIAN ENVOY { Minister of Defence to Attend Conference Canberra, September 17, The Commonwealth Government will be represented by the Minister of Defence. Sir Archdale Parkhill, at a conference at Wellington to consider the establishment of an air-mail service between Australia and New Zealand. Sir Archdale Parkhill will be accompanied by a delegation of senior officers from the Post Office and Civil Aviation Department. He will sail next Saturday, and expects to be absent for about a month. .