FOR TIMBER DUTY

Grey River Argus, 1 July 1925, Page 5

FOR TIMBER DUTY

j WORKERS’FEDERATION Ask Labour Party’s Support (Special to Argus.) WELLINGTON, June 30. Messrs F. Turley (Secretary of the New Zealand Timber AVorkers’ Federation) and L. Glover (Alliance of Labour) waited as a deputation upon the caucus of the Labour Party, and urged that the members of the Party support a duty on the importation of t imber. The deputation stated that at present the timber industry was in a bad wav, and large numbers of men were unemployed. Oregon pine and Baltic j timber was being brought here by the shipload. This importation of timber did not make timber any cheaper to tile builder. They urged that an understanding should be come to by the Government whereby the New Zealand timber industry should be protected. The New Zealand millers produced a considerable amount of ordinary building timber, for which there was no market. The millers were prevented from exporting this timber to Australia, while, on the other hand, the timber for butter boxes and for cheese crates was duty free if it were exported containing these commodities. They asked that the Labour Part;-' support a duty on foreign timber, providing that the price of the local timber was not raised to the New Zealand builders. After considerable discussion, it was decided by the Party that the Timber Workers’ Federation should supply the Parliamentary Labour Party with all the data available regarding the importation of timber; the amount of timber imported from the different countries, the working conditions and wages where the timber was shipped from! and the conditions appertaining on the boats carrying the timber. The deputation agreed to supply this information.