WHAKATANE PAPER MILLS

Evening Star, Issue 22475, 21 October 1936, Page 13

WHAKATANE PAPER MILLS

COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION BILL ALLOWED TO PROCEED WITH AMENDMENTS [Fee United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, October 21. The report of the chairman of the committee on the Whakatane Paper Mills Limited Water Supply Empowering Bill was as follows; — i have the honour, by direction of tho committee set up for the purpose of considering the Whakatane Paper Mills Limited Water Supply Empowering Bill, to report thereon as follows: — (1° That it finds the allegations of the preamble proved to its satisfaction. (2) That it has carefully considered the Bill clause by clause and recommends that the Bill be allowed to proceed with amendments. (3) That the amendment in clause 12 is made in order to bring paragraph A in conformity with paragraph B of sub-clause (1); that the amendment to new clause 26a is inserted at the request of the Health Department in order to give power to impose on the company conditions as to the disposal of waste products. (4) That, whilst the committee recognises that the management of the affairs of the company is of primary concern to the directors and shareholders thereof, and makes the foregoing recommendation, it desires to place on record that, after hearing the evidence received, it is strongly of the opinion that it would be to the undoubted advantage of the company before exercising the enabling rights, powers, and privileges conferred on it by the Bill, and proceeding with further operations or taking further forward steps involving a large expenditure of money, that the directors and shareholders should have to, to guide the company’s activities, projects, or proposals, the advice and benefits of a national investi-

gation and report as urged in the statement submitted to the Legislative Council on the seventeenth day of beptember, 1936, by the Hon. M. Fagan on behalf of the Government. In this connection the committee desires to state that it pressed upon the representatives who appeared before the committee on behalf of the company to agree to such a prudent and precautionary proposal, but the committee regrets that such consent was declined, the need for the passage of the Bill this session being insisted on by such representatives. Attention is here drawn to the fact that the responsibility for any unsatisfactory and perhaps serious consequences that may result from the company not giving effect to the committee’s precautionary proposal as aforesaid and otherwise failing or neglecting to act in accordance with the beneficial advice given m the said statement by the Government, must remain that of the directors and shareholders. Nothing herein shall be construed to imply that the committee, in making the foregoing recommendation, sets its seal of approval on the company's activities, projects, and proposals. The committee endorses fully in all respects the hereinbefore mentioned definite, informative, and warranted statement relating to this Bill furnished to the Legislative Council by the Hon. M. Fagan on behalf of the Government. Explaining the amendment to clause 12, the leader of the Council (the Hon. M. Fagan) said that the Bill empowered a company to open a road to lay mains, etc. If objection were made to" the company’s proposals and the objection was considered unreasonable the matter was to be referred to a magistrate, not to the Minister of Public Works, as the Bill formerly proposed. The magistrate’s decision must be final. This amendment was in uniformity with the rest of the clause, which stipulated that in the event of a person requiring alterations in connection with road openings which were deemed to be unreasonable, the matter was to be referred l to a magistrate, whose decision was to be final.