The Evening Star FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1929. NEW ZEALAND HARBOURS.

Evening Star, Issue 20089, 1 February 1929, Page 8

The Evening Star FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1929. NEW ZEALAND HARBOURS.

The Harbour Board delegates who met in Auckland this week represented no fewer than twenty-four ports. According to the New Zealand Year Book, this dominion has twenty-one ports of entry for Customs purposes, but there arc other numerous ports around the coast. Probably no other part of the Overseas Empire has so great a multiplicity of ports. A number of the smaller ones are utilised only by coastal vessels, but overseas vessels frequently call at some of the second grade ports t > load staple exports. The Home shipping companies have more than once commented on the time and money loss occasioned them by the process ol “turning round” their vessels in New Zealand waters, but they have not so far brought about the centralisation which they appear to consider advisable from tboir point ol view. The last official figures available (for 1927) show that 90 per cent, of the imports and 70 per cent, of the exports were handled at the four main ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Otago. These figures somewhat strongly support the shipping companies’ contention in favour of partial centralisation. Were it carried out several harbour boards would be relieved of tasks involving considerable engineering and financial difficulty in making provision for the safe and expeditious working of oversea vessels of some size. But in the majority of cases considerations of local prestige evidently outweigh the purely abstract economic aspect, and to-day the tendency is in the direction of additions to an already formidable expenditure on harbour improvement and maintenance by a number ol second class ports to keep themselves included or to gain inclusion in the itinerary of Home-going vessels.

Mr Cobbe, the new Minister of Marine, made guarded reference 'to this position in his speech at the opening of the Auckland Conference, He said it was only natural that members of harbour boards should like to see their harbours well equipped, but lie reminded delegates that there were such factors as the trade necessities of the district, sound finance, and the certainty of surmounting engineering difficulties which entered into the problem. Insular conditions and the length of coastline relative to area are seemingly not the. solo reason why New Zealand has so many ports to ,servo a comparatively small population. Mr Cobbe pointed out that in other countries harbour boards are not given the wide powers and functions entrusted by the Government to the various boards in New Zealand. Autonomy, especially in the realm of iinanco, has acted as an inducement towards Hie creation ports not absolutely necessary. This is one of the reasons why port charges in quite a number oi cases in New Zealand are regarded as a burdensome tax on trade. Ihe revenue requirements of so many ports .total a large sum annually, and that it barely suffices is suggested by tin fact that tbe boards are practically united in wishing to get more from a source at present exempt—viz., tin steamers owned by the State. Mi Cobbe was in rather an anomalous position, being chairman of tho Wellington Harbour Hoard, which forwarded a remit to that effect, while as Minister of Marine ho deprecated such action, pointing out the exemptions which harbour boards enjoy in respect of various forms of Government taxation.