TIMBER PRICES

Grey River Argus, 12 March 1938, Page 4

TIMBER PRICES

Question in House MR SULLIVAN’S REPLY. [Per Press Association] PARLIAMENT BLDGS., March 11. The House of Representatives met at 1.30 p.m. In the course of an urgent question to the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. D. G. Sullivan), Mr A. G. Hultquist (Govt., Bay of Plenty) asked whether he had seen the recently-published statement to the effect that following on the increase of ten per cent, in the wages of timber workers granted last week it had been decided by the industry, after investigation by Government officials, to increase the prices of timber by ten per cent, over-all. In practice, the increase on lines in demand will be as much as twenty per cent.

Mr Hultquist also asked whether the Minister would take steps to see that the timber industry did not exploit the consuming public by an unwarranted increase in the price of timber, on the grounds that wages had been increased. Hon. D. G. Sullivan, in reply, said that the press statement referred to by Mr Hultquist was incorrect in its most important aspect, in that the net average increase in the price of building timbers was five per cent, over-all, not ten per cent, as stated. On only one grade of timber was the increase as great as twenty per cent., while on many lines there was no increase at all