WAIPORI POWER

Evening Star, Issue 20118, 7 March 1929, Page 8

WAIPORI POWER

GOVERNMENT PURCHASE SUGGESTED GR SHACKLOGK REPLIES TO CRITICISM INTERESTS OF CITY WILL BE WATCHED That tho negotiations for the suggested purchase of the Waipori electric works bv the Government had been initiated by tho Government and not by the representatives of the City Council was stated at the meeting of the council last night bv Cr J. B. Shaddock, who said that details had not yet been considered. Cr Munro opened tho discussion by stating that it seemed to him the public had got a wrong idea through what had gone out about the sale of the Waipori works. Councillors had had confidential documents and reports at different times. There was a lot of uneasiness in the public mind. Cr Black : I saw tho confidential reports in the newspapers the next day. Or Munro: Yes T am going to refer to some of the reports that got into the papers. How did those reports get into the Press? Cr Scott (Jokingly) : Hid you give them to the Press?

Cr Mum - : said he wanted to know how the reports got there. He did not give anything to anybody. "When the confidential matters came before the committee of tho council it should he the duty of the chairman to give the whole of the facts once the Press got a certain amount. It seemed to him the public had got only half tho facts.

“ The matter should never have been taken in committee,” said Cr W. Begg. Cr Munro wanted to know if tho chairman gave the reports to tho Press. If he did he should have given the full facts.

Cr Black said he felt stultified, niter getting reports marked, “ confidential,” to see them in the Press.

Cr Scott suggested that, thouglj the subject was taken in committee, the reports were on the table and available to the Press. Regarding the sale of Woipori ho would like to make the matter perfectly clear. As far as the negotiations were concerned the committee had nothing to do with it. According to what the chairman had said and according to those who had been in Wellington in. regard to No. d station. the matter was brought up by the Government!. It would be as well if the chairman made it clear that it was quite incidental as far as his colleagues and he who were in Wellington were concerned. It was true that the council iu. committee acquiesced in getting more definite information. Public bodies and others should be informed ot the position. “ I think the matter is a joke,” concluded Cr Scott. ” I don’t think the Government has any intention of purchasing it.” Cr Begg said the, whole matter in regard to Waipori was more or less informal. Quite a number of ratepayers, however, had become alarmed. The council had made a mistake in not discussing the subject in open council. Somo were in favour, others were against, but it had gone out to the public that the whole of the council had approved. Cr Scott: “ I don't see. that, because there was nothing before us to approve ” Cr Begg said the general public should have known that. In future he was going to take up n strong attitude regarding the publication of confidential reports, because sooner or later they leaked out, and the public got only one side.

In reply to a question by Cr Black, Cr Shacklock said the coffer dam was just about finished. He understood that on Wednesday a start was made ''• imping the water from the inside ot it. . Dealing with the question of the proposed sale, Cr Shacklock said they had not yet begun negotiations with the Government. The councillors and the public generally must trust those uuoointed to handle the matter to make ns good a, deal as they possibly could tor the city. The coin.lil had authorised them only to open up negotiations. The reports of his committee would indicate the probability of a shortage of supply three years lienee, and the necessity of establishing a third power station lower down the river. Before the city could establish a third power station it had to get the permission of the Government. It was with the idea of getting that permission that he and his colleagues went to Wellington. It had been made quite clear by the officials of the Government that unless they could get this additional power station the city would not be able to meet the demand for power three years hence, assuming that the demand for [lower developed as in the past three mars. It had also been explained to the council that there were other ways and means of getting over the difficulty. One was to turn down all applications for power after a certain date. None of the councillors, continued Cr Shad:lock, would back him up if he asked that for the next three years no applications for power could be accepted. There was one method hv which the demand might be met—by the installation of Diesel engines in the city or by a steam plant, and these in five or six years would be only of scrap value. Another method was to establish a No. 3 power station. No negotiations, as he bad stated, bad been made with the Government for a sale of Waipori, but the Government officials had said wdien the position had been placed before them that they could bridge them over their difficulty. . The Government offered to supplv them with 5,000 kilowatts at £8 per kilowatt per annum. The result would have been, had they accepted that option, that would be increased working expense's, to the time of £40,000 per annum. The other proposal was to buy the head works of the Waipori station and to supply [lower to the city at the actual total cost of generation, and also to pay the total cost of all the local works. That, roughly.'was the position. T hey could understaaid that there were still a lot of details to be worked out, but these had not .yet been started. That was exactly whore they were at the present time. _ Cr Scott had unite a wrong impression when he said the proposal was a ]oke. It was no joke. It was very serious—not jocular. Cr Scott; “Do you think the Government would like to buy?’’ Cr Shacklock; “ If the terms satisfy it.” It would he a certain advantage if both stations came under the one control, both to the Government and to the city. It would certainly be no joke when, if three years hence, the council had to refuse the applications that would come before it. So far as the publications in. the Press were concerned. he had seen no confidential reports there. ( Cr Clark: 1 haven’t seen them either. . , , j Cr Shacklock said the town clerk, j the city electrical engineer, and hiinsch ! find made a statement lor publication. Me had considered ft reasonable that the public should get a certain amount of information. Thdy could rest assured that the best interests of the city would be looked after, so far Us the past'and the present Were concerned. • The Waipori enterprise, as lie loosed

nt it, existed lor the supply of electro power to the city. . Cr Larnadi : We should. not have gore outside of it. Cr Shacklock went on to say that la did not think sentiment should coin tirst. _lt was a matter of business. ! the citizens could be assured of a bet ter service foj- the future at the sam price now being paid, and with ecpir profits, then he thought it would b satisfactory to all parties. Cr Mitchell: ‘‘For how long?” Cr Shacklock: “For all time,' 1 hope. Waipori as a connected station an interlocked station, at once assume a vastly different position from an iso la ted station.” Cr Monro: “ You are giving an assnr . mice that nothing will be done in the way of sale to tbe Government unless ibe ratepayers are taken into your confidence?” Cr Shacklock replied that at a latei date the negotiations would all be pulon the table for the information of the citizens—exactly what was proposed. If they could not make suitable arrangements the whole thing would be dropped. The. difficulties of three years hence would then have to be faced in some different way. In the meantime they had exhausted all the suggestions which had come to them.