NATIONAL SERVICE

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 June 1942, Page 2

NATIONAL SERVICE

CARS FOR E.P.S.

MR. SEMPLE’S EXPLANATION CHRISTCHURCH, June 4. He had not made any suggestion in his statement at the tyre meeting last Saturday, that E.P.S. and other cars, used for national service, would be immobilised, said the Minister of Transport (Mr. Semple) this morning, when criticising the remarks made at the meeting of the executive of the South Island Motor Union, last night. E.P.S. and other cars had to be used in an emergency, and they would be kept mobile, .declared the Minister, who added that what he had said on Saturday, was that in a few months there would be few cars used for pleasure-running left on the roads. “I regard it as unfortunate that the Minister should have made remarks in public, shortly before the relicensing period, that it appeared that within a few months not many private cars would be on the road,” said the Chairman, Mr. W. R. Carey, at the S.I.M.U. meeting. The meeting endorsed the decision of the North Island Union to approach the Government to ascertain what supplies of oil fuel would be available for private motor vehicles in the next few months.

“The statement I made on Saturday was clear, definite and specific, based upon facts that I gave to the meeting, that I could not and would not publish,” said Mr. Semple, to-day. “The statement was made in reply to an intelligent question put to me, name - ly, did I think it a fair thing the Government should impose restrictions and hardships on owners of commercial vehicles that were doing the nation’s work, while hundreds of private motorists were running on the roads for pleasure. My reply was that as 1 saw the position, there would be very few of these cars on the road in a few months, and I had all the reasons in the world for making that statement.

“Private motorists in this country will get no more tyres, and will not even have the right to retread their tyres,” added the Minister. “These measures have been agreed upon for the sole purpose of preserving the tyres in the country for defence, and the carrying on of the country’s business. At present, the maximum amount of petrol for private cars is two gallons for big, and one gallon for small cars. This will be reviewed at the end of the month, and it is a moral certainty they will get no more. The indications are they will get less, if they get any. I did not suggest that cars to be used for E.P.S. purposes, or for other national service, would be immobilised. There is a lot of difference between those cars and cars used for pleasure.” Mr. Semple added that E.P.S. and cars for other national service, would be protected, as it was only natural to assume they had to be used in case of emergency, and they would be kept mobile for that purpose.

WELLINGTON BLACK-OUT

WELLINGTON, June 3

A total black-out of certain areas in Wellington is to be enforced immediately. All buildings visible from the harbour must henceforth show no lights. In a statement to-night, the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) said that acting on instructions from the authorities it was required that till further notice full black-out restrictions be observed in that portion of the city visible from the harbour, including the metropolitan area, the Hutt, and Eastbourne. Street lighting is excluded from the order because on receipt of a signal it can immediately be cut off with a single switch. When street lights go out; all cars in the area must stop, and put all lights out. The purpose for which this direction is given is protection of port facilities, as it is not desired to mobilise Hie E.P.S. unnecessarily by the sounding of a siren.

FIRE-WATCH DEFAULTERS

WELLINGTON, June 4

The first prosecution in Wellington for failing to carry out fire watching duties, resulted in Frederick George Seelen, Edward Thompson, and Francis Walter Saunders being each fined £5, by the Magistrate (Mr. Stout). Evidence for the prosecution was that they were employees of R. Hannah and Co., and failed to attend for fire watching on allotted duties for the Easter holidays. Defendants pleaded not guilty. The effect of their explanations was. that they considered an unfair alteration had been made in their roster, bringing them on in the holiday period, before they would normally have been required. Mr. Stout pointed out that the proper course would have been to complain to the fire protection organiser. The action they took amounted to shirking. Mr. Hampson-Tindale, Fire Protection Organiser, said he had recommended these prosecutions, not so much because of the enormity of the offence, as to warn others.

FIREWATCHERS AND AWARDS

OAMARU, June 3

Any worker exclusively employed as a fire-watcher does not come within the scope of any industrial award, according to a decision of Mr. R. C. Abernethy, S.M., in a recent test case. This information was contained in a letter from the Associated Chambers of Commerce tabled at the monthly meeting of the Oamaru Chamber.

The letter stated that, in the absence of any satisfactory statement from the Government, the Auckland Employers’ Association had recently been advising its members that any worker exclusively employed as a fire watcher was not affected by industrial laws or awards. That opinion, stated the Associated Chambers of Commerce, had now been confirmed by Mr. R. C. Abernethy, S.M., in the case, Inspector of Awards versus New Zealand Paper Mills, Ltd. The Magistrate, it was stated, held that the employee concerned was employed by the company under compulsion of the regulations, and was a quasi-policeman; therefore he was not an industrial worker.