CLOSING A MILL

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 53, 31 August 1934, Page 9

CLOSING A MILL

MAMAKU VENTURE

PROTESTS IN HOUSE

MORE CONSIDERATION

MR. FORBES'S INTIMATION

Negotiations between the Government and the Railways Board are to Lc reopened in an endeavour to secure the operation, on a co-opera-tive basis, of the Stale sawmill at Mamaku, near Rotorua, which, in accordance with a final decision of the board, has been closed down. This' intimation was conveyed to tl\e House of Representatives by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) last night after a protracted debate, in which members from all parties supported the proposal that every effort should be made to save the township from the ruin which, it was alleged, would result from the placing of the Railway Department's order for timber supplies with another sawmill. The attack was inaugurated by a Government supporter, Mr. C. H. Clinkard (Rotorua), and the stream of protests continued to flow until the Prime Minister indicated his intention of renewing representations to the board with the object of retaining in employment the men affected.

Mr. 'Clinkard said that the mill was .■formerly privately owned, but about oight years ago the Kailway Department arrived at the conclusion that it ■would be advantageous to supply its own.timber requirements, and for that purpose it purchased the mill as a going concern. In May last posters ■were put up stating that the mill would cease working at the end of that month, but the Minister of Railways deferred the evil hour to the end of August. The closing-down of the mill would throw men out of employment. Although it had been stated that the mill had been profitable, the reason given, for its closing -was that it had maintained its profits by what was said to bo an overcharge to other branches of the railways service in the prices levied for timber, and it appeared that a domestic dispute had arisen. The board was ablo to get contracts at a lower level than the cost of the Department's own output. Instead" of the board carrying out an investigation into the matter, it acr cepted the tenders from outside, and the mill was to close down. A CONTRACT BASIS. Mr. Clinkard said that he had suggested that the mill should be worked on,a contract basis, but the management had stated that that was not practicable. He had pointed out that that had been done previously. The mill had facilities that no other mill possessed, and, in , addition, revenue from the cottages had amounted to £500 a year. "And the mill is to bo'closed down either through the in.capacity of the board, or owing to a •domestic squabble as to how the thing •should be conducted," ho said. . v; Mr. Clinkard said that he had been instrumental in obtaining an offer of 2a a hundred royalty—not"1 the Is 8d charged by the" Department against, its own timber.. " The person making the offer was prepared; to pay interest'on the valuation of the mill as shown ;in the Department's own books, nnd he was prepared to return the mill to the Department's keeping. Mr. E. Semple (Labour; Wellington East): "What is the estimated value of the plant? ' - Mr. W; Perry (Labour, Auckland Central): £30,000. " Mr. Clinkard said that the offer also included.an offer to give the Department any timber it required, but the proposals were turned down absolutely. He criticised the utter mismanagement that had been shown, and said that it would be well if the Minister of Kailways reviewed the position, and if he had handed over too much of Ms re- •_ sponsibility to see that that responsibility was restored at the earliest , moment, and to see that it did not j oecnr again. c Mr. Parry: Is that a threat? "ORDER OP THE BOOT." Mr. Clinkard read a letter from the < Railways Board in which it was stated E that the whole question of the timber j supplies to the Department would be l reviewed in July, 1935. "I would 1 just like to give these gentlemen who • have given the 'order of the booi ' and * the 'sack* to these men, the same c order to July, 1935," ho said, "and c allow them to live on atmospheric ~) pressure in the meantime, the same as * they aro doing to those from whom T they are depriving their livelihood." x Mr. F. Langstone (Labour, Waima- ' vino): Are any mombers of the Kail- I ways Board interested in other timber I ventures? ' ? Mr. Clinkard: I am not implying J motives. . I "I feel very strongly on this subject," continued Mr. Clinkard, "and this is the efficiency shown by this board who are supposed to be experts ■it operating railways,, or something else. lam judging them by their r work, and if they cannot administer a ' thing like this with greator capacity, then they are lacking in that capacity in other walks of life. If I had been asked to find a way of working that mill I could keep it against any other c mill in the country, and do it success- r fully. They hand over the supply of a their own requirements to some other 3 competitor because they cannot do the * job." . I Mr. Parry: The Chamber of, Com- j1 merce is demanding it. "I do ask the Government not to refer the matter back to the board, but j to take over the business therasolves l and see that the asset is maintained; ', to see that the interest of the employees ' is conserved and the community is k saved from the ill-considered, unbnsi- . nesslike, incapable management of those who have been entrusted with their | affairs," concluded Mr. Clinkarcl. JOURNEY OP DESTRUCTION. v f "I am delighted that the member \ for Eotorua has wakened up," said Mr. K. Semple (Labour, Wellington f East). "He has delivered a strong % indictment against hir own Govern- a ment, and I wonder whether he will n act consistently with the statements he -v lias just made and remain on that } side of the House." He said that j, the closing-down of the Mamaku mill ; was just another stopping placo on the journey of destruction being pur- p sued by the Government. If Mr. t) Clinkard wont along the routo 'Of the a proposed Napier-Gisbovne railway he Ji would see a wastage amounting . to g £5,000,000. , ii Mr. Langstone: The member for I J'otorua said it iv;is right. n

'Mr. Semple: Yes, ho voted for it. !£h& flame .thing liad iaxijwxit'd in $»&-

nection with the South Island main trunk line and the Westport-Inangahua line, continued Mr. Semple. A member: What about tho Kirikopuni line?

jMr. Semple: That is about as crooked as tlio Government's policy.

Mr. Speaker: What docs the honourable member mean by the word "crooked"?

Mr. Semple: It is not straight,

He said that while they were taking up the rails at Karamea, they were making provision for an extension of the harbour. The rails were being sold, and when, the- member for Motueka (Mr. K. J, Holyoakc) ltad asked to whom they were being sold and what price was being paid for them, he was told that the board did not know to whom the rails wero being sold nor how much was being paid for them. It was a crime to shut down the Mamaku mill, but that was only one of the extravagances of th 6 Government. During last week, when the Government was talking about turning the corner, the unemployed figures had increased by 2000 and now the men working at the mill wero going to swell the figures. The policy of the Government was being instituted ,by the chambers of commerce, because what the chambers of commerce said today the Government carried out tomorrow. The appointment of a .committee of the House to investigate the whole affair was advocated by Mr. A. M. Samuel (Independent, Thames), who said it was hard to realise that one lived in a civilised community, when a board eonld destroy a township and throw sixty men and their families into the pit of unemployment. NOT SO SIMPLE. "It is not quite so simple as it looks," snid tho Minister of Finance (the Et. Hon. J. G. Coates), who, in detailing the negotiations which had taken place between the Government and the board, oxplained that, Jbllowing the last postponement of the operation of the board's decision, the Prime Minister had urgently requested that the closing of the mill should be still further deferred until the Government could obtain a; better idea of what the future hold. He supported the'suggestion that the wishes of tho House should be conveyed to tho board, agreeing that every member regarded the matter seriously^ If an arbitrary action were involved it would be necessary, of course, for the House at that sitting to pass amending legislation directing the lines the board should follow or relieving it of certain authority with which Parliament had already invested it. Tho Prime Minister (the Kt. Hon. G. W. Forbes), speaking at a later stage, said that following Mr. Clinkard's speech •>« had undertaken to approach tho Railways Board again, as ho was anxious to see if arrangements could still be inaae for tho mill to be kept going and the men retained ift their occupations. Tho House should understand, however, that any continuation would not include provision for tho supply of the Department's requirements, as these had been arranged for the next twelve months under contract with another mill some miles away. The Eailways Board on analysis had found that the cost of the timber supplied to it by the mill was substantially in excess of the price at which it could satisfy its requirements from another sawmill in the district, and it was on that ground that the board reached its decision to close down the Mamaku mill. As the price at which timber from the Sta,te i mill was being cut wa^ substantially higher than that at which it could be obtained from ofcber sources, the board considered it'was its duty to secure its timber at the market price. The mill now. supplying the Department's requirements was employing additional hands to meet the demand. Mr. Fraser: That is not much consolation to tho people of Mamaku. The Prime Minister: It is not. I think that is one of the features which tho board overlooked, and members had dispersed after reaching their final decision before I could place that view before them. I\intend to place the employment aspect before tho board as soon >as a meeting can be arranged, and'then-the "claims made on behalf of tho men can bo considered. A member: Will .the mill be closed tomorrow? MILL MUST CLOSE. Tho Primo Minister: You cannot keep the mill going tomorrow. The position is that the board, by contract, has made arrangements elsewhere for the supply of its timber requirements for the nest twelve months. Members: Shame! "I want to see the board to ascertain- whether the mill can be run by tho men on a co-operative basis and the timber sold to the public," said the Prime Minister. • "It is not a question of providing for the requirements of the Bail way Department, since these have been arranged with a mill seven miles away." Mr. W. E. Barnard (Labour, Napier): When was that contract made? "About three mouths ago," replied tbn Primo Minister, who added that a sawmiller in the district had offered to run the mill on a co-operative basis in an endeavour to'keep tho present personnel in employment for the twelve months which would elapso before the board reviewed its timber requirements. There could also bo discussed with the board tho terms on which it was prepared to allow the mill to run, as suggested. . It was to bo noted, Mr. Forbes added, that the railways took only 25 per cent, of the total timber cut, and that a large surplus was available for disposal to the public. "I would lite to see tho mill carry on so that tho men can remain in work until the question is reviewed in twelve months' time," added the Prime Minister.

Members: Shame!