IRON INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 261, 2 August 1939, Page 10

IRON INDUSTRY

Construction Of Plant In Onekaka EXTENT OF ORE DEPOSITS Retention Of Experts’ Services The decision of the Government to proceed with the development of the Onekaka iron ore deposits is announced in the Budget presented in the House of Representatives last night by the Acting-Minister of Finance, Mr. Savage. The iron and steel industry, he said, was a basic industry for many other industries. The construction of its plant will involve a capital outlay of £5,000.000 spread over about three and a hal f years. Mr. Savage said that after passing the authorizing Act in 1937 progress in establishing the works was held up pending iiiyestigations to prove the quantity of ore that is available at Onekaka. The Government naturally wanted to be sure that raw materials in sufficient quantity were available before launching a large-scale project. The exploratory work has now demonstrated that there is sufficient usable iron ore and ironsand in the country to supply the industry for half a century, and it is expected that further investigations will disclose additional deposits. Sufficient coal of suitable quality is also available, and a further expert report by 11. A. Brassert and Co., Ltd., of London, who are specialists in steelworks, indicates that the proposed works will be able toproduce steel nt a price comparable with that being paid today. In other words, the industry will be an economic one in every sense, as practically all the raw materials will be available in New Zealand. The services of H. A. Brassert and Co., Ltd., have been retained to design and supervise the construction of the plant, involving a capital outlay of about £5.000,000 spread over about three years and a half. The influence of such an expansion of productive employment will be farreaching. During the constructional stage of the steel plant a considerable amount of employment will be created, and many hundreds of men.representative of various trades will participate in the work of site preparation, foundations, assembly of plant, and erection of buildings. When the plant comes into full operation approximately 1500 men will be directly and permanently employed. In addition the indirect employment Will be considerable. In the coal mines, for instance, the additional demand for coal, amounting to nearly 200,000 tons per annum, not subject to seasonal variations, will create favourable conditions for continuous production with stable employment for the miners. It means that approximately 2000 workers will be directly engaged in production either in the steel plant or in supplying the necessary raw materials of domestic origin. TAX ON INCOMES Effect Of New Proposals The effect of the increased rates of income tax on assessments is shown in a table published in the Budget. The following examples, said the ActingMinister of Finance, Mr. Savage, are based on a typical case of the earned Income of a man with a wife anil two

The additional tax payable by a man with an income of £365 is about £1 a year, while the increase on an £BOOO income is equal to approximately £1 a day.

dependent children Total i Amount of tai At under newIncrease Income. present. proposals £ s. d. £ s. d. in tax. £ 6. d. 300 .. Nil -Nil Nil 305 .. 0 8 4 1 10 2 1 1 10 ■100 .. 3 S 0 5 2 1 1 14 1 WK) .. 22 8 0 27 12 1 5 4 1 1000 .. 70 S <0 82 12 1 12 4 1 5000 .. 1283 14 7 1365 18 9 82 4 2 sooo .. 2841 13 0 3203 8 'J 361 15 9