DOMINION NEWS PROBLEM OF TRANS-TASMAN SHIPPING

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 March 1946, Page 8

DOMINION NEWS PROBLEM OF TRANS-TASMAN SHIPPING

The deficiency in the shipping tonnage available to New Zealand for the trans-Tasman service and the temporary adverse effect it was having on Certain industries had been a matter of the utmost concern to the Government for some time, said the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr. Sullivan) yesterday. An additional vessel, the Sammex, had been made available by the British Ministry of War Transport to assist in clearing the back-log of Auckland cargo awaiting shipment in Sydney. An effort was being made to secure a further vessel to lift the rest of the accumulated Australian tonnage and thus relieve to some extent the heavy burden that was now falling on eight freighters of the Union Company. Mr. Sullivan said that the high priority necessarily accorded food requirements in the United Kingdom prevented in the meantime the release of any refrigerated tonnage for the Australian find New Zealand service. It was hoped that the early release of the Monowai and the Wanganella, with new freighter tonnage at present on order and building, would ease the Tasman position in due course.— (P.A.) t North Island Power Cut.

Because of continued dry weather, and a consequent lowering of the levels of the w’ater in Lakes Taupo and Waikaremoana, a severe restriction on the consumption of electric power .in the whole of the North Island is to be imposed as from Monday next, according to a circular letter from the Electricity Controller (Mr F. T. M. Kissel) addressed to all North Island supply authorities, and received by the Auckland Electric Power Board. The load reduction required is to operate for 24 hours each day, and is to continue until further notice. It amounts to about 14,500 kilowatts for the North Island. The Auckland board’s load is to be reduced by 4500 kilowatts, or roughly 12 per cent. —(P.A.)

Rangatira Delayed by Crew. As a protest against the alleged late payment of wages yesterday, members of the crew of the interisland steamer Rangatira refused to take the ship to sea at the scheduled sailing time from Wellington, 7.30 p.m. The ship departed an hour late. The Wellington manager of the Union Steam Ship Company (Mr J. Neale) stated last evening that a representative of the men concerned had approached the master of the Rangatira at 6.30 p.m. and informed him that the ship would be held for an hour as a protest. An official of the Seamen’s Union appealed to the men to desist from their attitude, but his counsel was disregarded. Mr Neale said that the men were paid at midday. He said that it was a big job paying crews of all the company’s ships in port, and it had just happened that on this occasion the Rangatira was one of the last to be dealt with. No previous trouble of this sort had been experienced.— (P.A.) Aviation Conference.

There was no plenary session yesterday of the civil aviation conference at Wellington, all of the delegates being busy with the work of committees. The following official report on the day’s proceedings was issued last evening: “The committee set up to make recommendations regarding the provision and maintenance of ground facilities for air services in the South Pacific met last night under the chairmanship of Air Commodore A. de T. Nevill, ViceCheif of the Air Staff of New Zealand. Sub-committees were established to consider particular technical problems, including meteorological services, radio aids, and aerodrome facilities. The reports of these sub-committees were received | to-day, and it is expected that the report of the principal committee will be available for submission to the full conference to-morrow. The Acting-Prime Minister (Mr Nash) was elected chairman of the committee to examine the proposals for operation of a Commonwealth transpacific service. The committees’ discussions occupied the whole of the day. It is expected that further meetings of the committees will be held to-morrow, followed by a session of the full conference, possibly to-morrow evening.”—(P.A.) Air Service to Japan.

On a survey flight of 12,452 miles from Auckland to Japan and back, a Douglas Dakota of No. 41 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force will leave Whenuapai on Monday morning. The aircraft, which will carry a full crew of five, will also take a number of other R.N.Z.A.F. officers, who will examine facilities along the route before the inauguration, probably early in April, of a regular service to connect New Zealand with the Dominion forces of occupation in Japan The Dakota will fly by way of Norfolk Island, Brisbane, Cloncurry, Darwin, Morotai, the Philippines, and Okinawa, and is expected back in Auckland toward the end of this month. However, a faster schedule will be maintained, and it is expected the run will occupy seven days each way. The service may be a weekly one, with three or four aircraft constantly employed. The officer commanding No. 41 Squadron, Wing Commander L. H. Parry, will also command the survey party, and will be captain of the aircraft on the survey flight. With him he will have as crew Flight Lieutenant R. E. Weston, as second pilot; Flight Lieutenant A..F. Jacobsen, as wireless operator; Flight Lieutenant J. R. McClymont, as navigator; and Flight Sergeant D. McC. Stark, as flight engineer.—(P.A.) R.S.A. and Female Labour. 1

The reported remarks of the chairman of the New Zealand Retailers’ Federation (Mr. W. A. Armstrong) at the annual conference of the federation at Queenstown are viewed with grave concern by the New Zealand Returned Services’ Association, according to a statement issued by the association. The statement said that after giving instances of the difficulties firms were experiencing in taking back into their employment men who | had served in the armed forces, Mr. 1

Armstrong was stated to have inferred that it might be- difficult to maintain an increased payroll when all the men are back. ■ Already there was an oversupply of male labour and a shortage of female assistants, and he urged members of the federation to do everything in their power to encourage the right type of girl to take up that class of work. “The association is alarmed at any proposal that will accentuate the difficulties in rehabilitating servicemen, and has telegraphed to Mr. Armstrong expressing its emphatic protest against any encouragement to proposals involving the displacing of male assistants by female labour,” the