VIEWS OF TRADE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21853, 25 October 1945, Page 6

VIEWS OF TRADE

HOURS OF HOTELS WESTLAND “INCIDENT” MONOPOLY BOGEY “LAID” (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 25. The monopoly allegation, increased licensing hours, accommodation, and beer strength were dealt with by counsel for the licensed trade, Mr. H. F. O'Leary, K.C., before the Royal Commission on Licensing yesterday. Supporting the sale of liquor by grocers and wholesalers, Mr. O’Leary said that thousands of people preferred to buy their liquor in this way and have it delivered to their homes. The objection of the Alliance was another attempt at repression. Separate licenses to breweries to brew and to sell would be absurd. One would be no use without the other. Mr. O'Leary said the Westland Breweries “incident” formed the main part of the Alliance’s baseless attack on the Customs Department. The Minister’s dealing with the case himself, in lieu of a prosecution, was in accordance with the company’s statutory rights. The controller of customs had insisted on publication in the Gazette of the penalty of £IOOO and on the dismissal of the brewers, which resulted in the Kumara Brewery closing. These things did not indicate departmental subservience to the trade.

What Commission Wanted to Know The chairman, Mr. Justice Smith: What the commission wants to know is why the Customs Department failed to search the records of the company at the time it- discovered the evasions? Why it accepted the word of the secretary, who should have been suspect, or the word of the directors, who could quite well have been suspect, and why the controller of customs wrote a letter containing little but excuses to the Minister

Mr. O’Leary: Once the controller was satisfied the directors knew nothing of the evasions it would have been unjust to have public prosecutions and a conviction against the company. I understand an investigation of the company’s affairs was made and detailed examinations of all apparently involved conducted.

The chairman: After one of the brewers was fined. He produced papers showing that the secretary of the company knew all about n. Accepting that, it does not show great efficiency of the inquiry.

Mr. O’Leary: ’Hiat may indicate lack of thoroughness in the investigation, but that is a long way from saying that all this was dene because of the power and influence of the licensed trade.

Proceeding, Mr. O’Leary said the real fear produced by three-year polls was the reason why better hotels had not been built. Generally, New Zealand had accommodation quite satisfactory to the average traveller and any dissatisfaction was from the Americans and the more well-to-do British tourists. Much of the criticism might be clue to over-fastidiousness. Public Demand j Dealing with licensed hours, Mr. O Leary denied that an extension was the demand of the licensed trade. It was a public demand, which it had been repeatedly stated before the commission was paramount and the .trade recognised this. Mr. O'Leary submitted that the monopoly bogey had been laid. The use of the word was misleading. In the last 20 years a prosperous brewing and hotel-owning company, Dominion Breweries, had come into being and challenged .the prosperity of New Zealand Breweries, forcing it to enter the hotel business to ensure an adequate outlet for its products. That did not indicate a monopoly. The trade was definitely competitive. Nine licenses wore held by New Zealand Breweries and 33 by other brewers. Obviously there was competition. Hotel-owning companies and breweries did not receive huge premiums or goodwill payments; these went to private owners, or to lessees who sold the balance of a lease. The weekly rents paid to breweries and companies were on a fair basis. In any event, there was no reason why goodwills should not be paid in the licensed trade as they were in any other class of business. The ties between the breweries and the hotels were in practice only lor draught beer, but even independent licensees drew only one brand.

Ties were not peculiar to the licensed trade, either here or anywhere else, and the objections were largely based on imperfect knowledge of what ties meant.

The trade and the public, said Mr. O’Leary, would welcome a return to pre-war strength of beer.