STATE AND MINES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1944, Page 4

STATE AND MINES

REPLY TO MR. PATERSON

NOT DELIBERATE POLICY

P.A. INVERCARGILL, July 12. "The Government's policy is not one of deliberate nationalisation of the coalmines, as suggested by Mr. Paterson. The mines have been taken over only in cases where it was apparent that such action was necessary in the public interest," stated the Minister of Mines (Mr. Webb) in an interview in Invercargill today. He was replying to the statement of Mr.'Stomach Paterson, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand, that Mr. Webb, as Minister of Mines, was following a deliberate policy of nationalisation of mines. Mr. Webb explained the reasons for taking over the Blackball, Dobson, and Wallsend mines, and referred to the purchase of the Westport-Stockton mine. "The Westport-Stockton colliery was also taken over in the national interests," he said. "It cost the Government £100,000 last year to keep this mine going, and the shareholders had not drawn dividends since its inception. The State paid back all the share capital, to the delight of hundreds of shareholders, who had given up all hope of a dividend. About 300 miners at Stockton, many of whom had spent their all in building their own homes, were faced with the mine closing down, with no other work in the district and with no compensation for their homes. The Government felt it had a duty to these men, who had worked under adverse conditions for a long period, and so it decided to take the mine over and adopt the open-cast method of working. There should be work for the miners in the township for the next 25 years. I consider that the taking over of this mine was an excellent move on the part of the State," said Mr. Webb. Mr. Paterson had complained that the Westport-Stockton colliery was taken over without prior negotiation with the company. That was because the Government wished to prevent undue gambling in the company's stocks, which would have enabled a few get-rich-quick people to buy up the shares and thus deprive the old shareholders of a reasonable return.

If the State had not taken over the mines, the coal situation in New Zealand would have been very much worse than it was. The railways and electric power stations had benefited from the production of the State mines. Mr. Paterson had said that on the outbreak of war the capacity of the New Zealand mines was adequate to meet the increasing war demands. This was far from being the case, said Mr. Webb. The war demands had increased the requirements of coal for the railways by 50 per cent. The cutting off of Australian supplies had put a big tax on the Nevy Zealand mines. On the question of absenteeism in coalmines, to which Mr. Paterson had referred, Mr. Webb said that the allegations about absenteeism were exaggerated, and he added: "I wish to say

that during the war the miners of New Zealand have made a great effort. The mining industry has done splendidly, and petty carping criticism is not justified." ' .