“IN THE SOUP"

Evening Star, Issue 21622, 18 January 1934, Page 6

“IN THE SOUP"

' PURCHASE OF WAITAKI POWER MAYOR SUGGESTS A BAD BARGAIN DENIAL BY GR J. B. SHACKLOCK ■ A statement that the City Council was ‘ badly in the soup” over its arrangement with the Government to take power from Waitaki was repeated to last night’s meeting of the council by the Mayor (Rev. E. T. Cox), but Cr J. B. Shacklock (chairman of the E.P. and L. Committee) strongly challenged the statement, declaring that the wide opinion was that the corporation had made a good bargain. The Mayor said that the E.P. and L. Committee should take steps to provide for the liability of £IO,OOO it would have to meet as soon as power from Waitaki was available. He understood from the Minister of Public Works that the corporation would have to meet that liability at this time next year. No effort had been made to catch up on electrical sales. When the arrangement was made with the Government to take Waitaki power a very bad bargain was made under present circumstances. The arrangement had been modified to the extent of £IO,OOO, but the council would still have'to meet a further sum of £IO,OOO when Waitaki power was available. He suggested that Dunedin should purchase electric ranges and makes a sales campaign on the same line as had been followed in other cities. . !A total of fifty ranges only was installed last year, so that any suggestion of interference with the business of local traders could be counted out. If the council could purchase 1,000 ranges (in lots of 100), the terms of sale, he thought, could be made low enough. The expected revenue from the sale of electricity for 1,000 ranges was £B,OOO annually, and that sum would just about meet the bill to the Government for the first year. Hq proposed that the ranges should be sold, under* a whirlwind campaign, at £1 deposit and Is 6d a week. On that basis he thought the council could sell 1,000 ranges in three months. He gave notice to move on those lines at the next meeting of the council. .“The mayor is wrong when he says that no arrangements have been made for doing increased business when the supply from Waitaki comes along,” replied Cr Shacklock. “ These arrangements are always going ahead, and if the time comes when we require a 50 per cent, increase in generating capacity the arrangement with Waitaki will be quite necessary. If the mayor has an idea that a bad bargain has been made he is the only one in New Zealand who has it. Those looking on* suggest that we have made a very good bargain. So there you are.” So.far as easy x terms. for appliances were concerned, • they could give the appliances away' and no doubt they would get rid of them. But they might have to increase the price for electricity. It was very doubtful whether the appliances could be given away and the present charges maintained. The cities had not adopted the low basis of hire purchase of appliances, although some Tof the smaller power boards had done so, ii>. -, hr

The Mayor , said ,,,statenient was practically "fKe unanimous opinion expressed in committee, and had resulted in Gr.JVlarlow going ;to Wellington. It was'stated in committee that “ we are badly in the soup.” Cr Shacklock: Nobody could suggest that.' “ I am suggesting something that will get us ‘ out of the soup,’ ” concluded the Mayor.