PRICE TRIBUNAL

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 225, 21 June 1939, Page 10

PRICE TRIBUNAL

Fixtures For Judicial Inquiries SITTINGS TO BE HELD IN WELLINGTON Submission Of Evidence Fixtures made by the Price Investigation Tribunal for the holding of judicial inquiries into the prices of a number of commodities were announced last evening by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mr. Sullivan. The inquiry into the prices of Australian bran and pollard is to commence on Tune 27, and that into the Auckland laundry prices on June 28. The following tentative dates of further sittings of the tribunal have also been arranged: June 30: Inquiry into prices of oatmeal. July 4: Inquiry into prices of sugar. July 7: Inquiry into prices of galvanized holloware. July 11: Inquiry into prices of tinned fish. All these sittings are to be held in Wellington, and this will be the case with the majority of the tribunal’s inquiries, though if it is considered essential for the purpose of obtaining evidence in connexion with any particular inquiry, sittings will be held elsewhere. “Where inquiries are of a purely local nature, the tribunal will arrange for the commencing dates of sittings to be advertised in the local papers, and where inquiries are of Dominionwide interest, dates of sittings will be advertised in the papers in the four chief centres,” said Mr. Sullivan. “This procedure will give persons affected the opportunity either of submitting a written statement to the tribunal or of appearing before the tribunal and giving oral evidence. In addition, the parties directly concerned in any particular inquiry will be notified in writing by the tribunal so as to give them reasonable opportunity of preparing their submissions to the tribunal and of arranging to attend before the tribunal either personally or by a representative. All oral evidence will be required by the tribunal to be given on oath, and witnesses should attend and give their evidence orally, but where that is impossible the tribunal will give due consideration to statements in writing furnished to it.” Mr. Sullivan said that in addition to these judicial inquiries, oilier inquiries of a less formal nature covering a wide range of commodities were also in hand. GROCERS PROTEST Regulations Thought Cumbersome By Telegraph—Press Association. AUCKLAND. June 20. "That this meeting of the Auckland Master Grocers’ Association desires to protest emphatically against the price investigation regulations and expresses the opinion that the regulations, because of their cumbersome nature, can never be satisfactorily administered and must result in a great deal of unnecessary work for all retailers or the consuming public.” This resolution was carried al a meeting last night for submission to the Primo Minister and the Minister of Industries and Commerce. The view was expressed that the Government has adequate powers for the control of prices under the Board of Trade Act and that the operation of these powers would not inconvenience traders. So far as the price regulations applied to the grocery trade, the tribunal recently set up had not the necessary intimate knowledge of the trade to determine whether or not the prices increases were justified.