COAL INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 99, 28 April 1945, Page 9

COAL INDUSTRY

REPLY TO OWNERS <

"NOTHING CONSTRUCTIVE"

i J?%ar^ al reP°rt of the New Zealand coal Owners' Association was notable because it did not contain one single practical, or constructive proposal for improving coal production and supplies for the public, said the Acting Minister of Mines (Mr. O'Brien) yesterday. Contrasted with the recent report of the Coal Owners' Association in England, he "said, it showed a woeful lack of appreciation of the realities of the situation even from a private owner's viewpoint, and he could not imagine that it would be accepted by the citizens of this country as a responsible and considered document. "Reduced to simple language," stated Mr. O'Brien, "the owners say that the salvation of the coal industry and the best interests of consumers rests upon the philosophy of less wages for the miners and more profits for the proprietors. It is the old diehard story which, when presented in plain language, without frills, falls "on deaf-ears in these times, and the people generally will not be misled vvhen the owners talk of public interest whilst thinking only of private interest. "Last year the owners predicted a reduction in output of 300,000 tons, and hotly contested the views of the Hon. P. C. Webb, who characterised the forecast as fantastic and absurd. Now the owners admit that output last year increased by over 14,000 tons, but they make no reference to their irresponsible prediction in 1944, nor is it stated that outputs have increased by over 5000 tons in the first three months of the current year. "I can only conclude that the Coal Owners' Association is trying to cause unnecessary alarm in the public mind about coal supplies and, of course, their inaccuracies and exaggerations are not without a political significance. "WORDS WITHOUT DEEDS.' "Let us examine the owners' reference to offers of co-operation, which is indeed a story of words without deeds. Is there any evidence anywhere of a private owner attempting on his own account to build up coal production so essential to the nation at war? Contrast their efforts with those of the State in improving amenities, providing decent housing conditions, reasonable working conditions, and prospecting and developing new mines and methods of work. Left to private ownership, the conditions in the Dominion, as far as coal supplies are concerned, would have been chaotic, and every thinking man who has given the matter reasonable thought, realises this. "The owners refer to the steps taken in the early phases of the war, but do not mention that they withdrew their representation from the Coal Mines Council when the situation became difficult in 1943, and.since that time have indulged in petty obstructionist tactics, apparently in an attempt to bring about an industral upheaval in the collieries. "The whole attitude of the association has been nothing more or less than comical, with one view taken by the association itself publicly, and another and quite different one by most of the individual members privately. SALES TO STATE. "The association repeats the allegation that private owners were forced to sell to the State by reason of inadequate subsidies and fixed selling prices, but will not make a specific charge and name the colliery or collieries which have been dealt with unfairly by the State in this manner. If the association's claim has any foundation at all, it should have no difficulty, and it is invited to select the colliery which best serves its case, and I will be pleased to publish the facts. "The reference to the recent dispute at Glen Afton is also misleading in that it is stated that the settlement was reached without reference to the Waikato Coal Mines Control Board or the Coal Mines Council, whereas five members of the board, including the deputy chairman, together with one member of the Coal Mines Council, were present. "The coal owners contend that outputs have been maintained by winning inferior classes of coal, but everyone knows that since Newcastle coal ceased to be supplied to New Zealand it was necessary to divert our best grades of bituminous coal to the gas industry to maintain gas services to the community. The coal owners know this better than most people, and should justify the situation and not criticise it, especially as practically all of the lower-grade coals have been worked and marketed by private interests. "My own view of the whole matter is that the Minister of Mines (Mr. Webb) and his Department have adopted a positive and realistic attitude to the problems of the coal industry facing the Dominion since the war began, and have met the constant-ly-changing and often perplexing problems with a commendable measure of success. This is reflected in the progressively increasing outputs obtained each year—a record which most other countries have been unable to equal."