PETROL RESELLERS

Evening Star, Issue 22620, 12 April 1937, Page 2

PETROL RESELLERS

PRICE FIXATION FOR ALL SOUGHT [Pek United Press Association.] WANGANUI, April 10. Two specific requests were made to the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) by a deputation of petrol resellers of Taranaki, Wanganui, Rangitikei, and Manawatu on Saturday. The deputation asked that the Government should apply price fixation to all petrol resellers, and, secondly, that, with the advent of such price fixation, dairy factories, which at present are exempt, should be included, and except in very special circumstances, that no increase should be made in selling points to dairy factories or similar co-opera-tive concerns. p :! The Minister,' promising to give close consideration to the matter, said that petrol selling was now a licensed industry, and was thus protected! against the absurd multiplication of selling points which obtained in the past. Progress in carrying out the plan involved by the licensing of the industry had been delayed by a multitude of difficulties, but it was now close to fulfilment. Dealing with the subject of dairy factories as selling points for petrol, the Minister told the deputation that the dairy industry hadi long been regarded as a depressed! industry, and from time to time concessions had been made to it. That was why he had exempted dairy factories from the provisions of the price ‘ fixation. The deputation had made out a good case, however, and in approaching the dairy factories he had found that in the majority of cases factories were agreeable to price fixation. In others they were indifferent as to what was done, and in others still thev were definitely against it. He thought he could see a solution of the problem by bringing dairy factories under the price fixation provisions, but, by a subsequent amendment to the law, giving them freedom to allocate their profits on petrol_ in such a way as they should determine, cither as a direct benefit to suppliers based ■on purchases of petrol or by putting the profits to the general trading account.