COAL SUBSIDIES

Evening Star, Issue 25882, 28 August 1946, Page 3

COAL SUBSIDIES

HEAVIER WITH STATE-RUN MINES CHALLENGE TO NATIONALISATION POLICY (Special.) WELLINGTON. Aug. 28. Criticising the Government’s intention to take over the privately-owned coal mines, Mr G. F. Sim - (National, Rotorua) quoted figures in the House yesterday which, he said, showed that such a move would not be in the interests ot either the taxpayer or the consumer. Of the 19 major collieries in New Zealand, said Mr Sim. 11 were privately owned, and eight were owned by the State. In 1944-45 the private companies produced 931,896 tons of coal, and the total subsidy was £245,794, or an average of 5s 3d a ton. The State mines produced 601,177 tons, and the total subsidy was £302,528, or an average of 10s a ton. The fact that another 4s 9d a ton subsidy was required in order to attain the standard of the private mines was clear proof, said Mr Sim, that there was less efficiency in State-operated collieries.' What was needed was a reduction in the subsidies, and not the increase that would take place, if the State took over. The more quickly a departure was riiade from the nationalisation policy in New Zealand, the better it would be' for the people—financially, mentally, and morally. Mr D. W Coleman (Government, Gisborne) said he wondered what sort of a position New Zealand would have been in to-day had the Government not taken over some of the mines. Had that not been done industry would have been ; in a parlous state, but actually it was very prosperous. The Government’s action had saved the industries of this country. Mr H. T. Norton (National, Waitemata) contended that the coal position in New Zealand had never been worse.. Housewives in Auckland and Wellington w’ould bear that out. At the request of the coal miners in the Waikato, the Government took over private enterprise mines in Waikato in, 1942. In their last year under private enterprise the mines in the Waikato produced 689,853 tons of coal, and,in 1945 they produced 632,354 tons, a net decrease of. 56,000 tons while being operated by the State. Admittedly the coal position to-day wds bad, but that was due principally to the enormous expansion of industry, said Mr C. H- Chapman (Government, Wellington North), and also to the great demands being made on the miners. •

Mr E. B. Corbett (National, Egrnont) : Tell that to .the housewives. Mr Chapman : “ The housewives' after the last war were confronted with the same difficulty as the housewives of today.” The serious position to-day was due to the great expansion of industry, the greater demand on the railways, and the fact that, instead of importing 200,000 tons a year, the Dominion had not imported one ton.' The miners had been doing a good job. Had some of the mines not been taken over by the Government, they would have had to close down altogether, and i even if those mines were not- economically sound, the coal was helping to meet the present shortage.