U.S. ARMY VEHICLES

Grey River Argus, 13 August 1946, Page 5

U.S. ARMY VEHICLES

SALE IN NEW ZEALAND The Inquiry Opened WELLINGTON, August 12. Mr. J. R. Bartholomew, the commissioner, opened to-day, the inquiry into the acquisition and disposal of American motor vehicles by the War Assets’Realisation Board. Mr. H. E. Evans, K.C., the Solici-tor-General and Mr. P. B. Cooke, K.C., appeared for the Crown to assist the commission. Mr. S. G. Stephenson appeared foi' Brigadier H. E Avery (former general manager of the board). Mr. T. P. Cleary appeared for the board. ’ Mr. J. Meltzer appeared for Mr. O. Conibear (secretary of the board)'. Mr. W. E. Leicester, with him M'r. R. E. Tripe, appeared for Messrs. W. S. Goosman, R. G. Gerard, W. J. Broadfoot and W. A. Sheat. members of Parliament, as members of the public in their private capacities. Mr. L. G. Rose appeared for-Mr. G. Laing, General Inspector of Government motor vehicles and Mr. D. R. Hoggard for G. T. Gillies and Sons, of Oamaru. A preliminary objection was raised hv Mr Cleary, who said Mr. Leicester’s clients (four Nationalist M’s P.) should not claim to represent the public, as the members of ether political parties might also have chosen to do so and the public would then speak in a diversity of tongues. Mr. Cleary claimed that these clients had made extravagant statements and innuendoes which had resulted in the inquiry being arranged. , After Mr. Leicester had replied, Mr. Bartholomew said the objection appeared to be a case of making a mountain out of a molehill. Mi. Leicester’s clients were entitled to appear as representatives of the public if they so desired. M’r. Cooke gave a detailed account of the transactions relating to the purchase. The vehicles and parts weie acquired from the United States for £15,500. These had been sold for £83,146. There had been a forfeiture of £3195. The Customs Department had been credited with 41 2-3 per cent, of the. sales figure. Evidence would show that the Treasury had favoured outright purchase of the vehicles and equipment. On Janu : ary 9, 1946, the War Assets Board took possession of the assets and a week later, with stocktaking under way, the board resolved that disposal action be taken, lhe scrap material and metal,” including spare parts, was bought by the New Zealand Government from the United States: authorities, apart from the original formal declaration from the United States Joint Purchasing Board in September. CALLING OF TENDERS Mr. Cooke, continuing his address, said that it was decided that the Board should dispose of the vehicles by tender. The tenders, closing on March 5, had been called by January 29. Answering Mr. Bartholomew, Mr. Cooke said that most of the vehicles had tyres on them, but there would be a considerable contest over that question. There was a quantity of spare parts which the American authorities wished to dispose of. The General Manager had recommended to the Treasury that these should not be purchased, because they would be excessive for New Zealand requirements.

There were four lots of 1225 G.M.C. trucks, 420 Dodge trucks, three LH.C. trucks, four Diamond T trucks, 546 Jeeps and a quantity of scrap metal and parts. The conditions provided for a person to tender for any lot, or any lots, or all of them. They provided for a five per cent, deposit; also for the tenders to be delivered in sealed envelopes; for a time limit; for a bond covering the leaving of the site and within which the lots must be removed from Seaview Roaa Park.

No guarantee of the condition of the vehicles and parts was given. Nine G.M.C. trucks, which had been received from the U.S. authorities, were not included in the lot, these having been “hand-picked” and bought by the Public Works Department for £5,055. \ THE RECOMMENDATIONS The tenders having been opened, the General Manager recommended to the Minister of Finance that a tender of Archibalds Ltd., of Christchurch, for lots 2 and 3 be accepted at £63,252. He recommended the tender of Gillies and Sons for Lpt 1 be accepted, at £21,010. He recommended that no tender for Lot 4 be accepted, but that this material be sold at a flat rate per ton of £l5.

. The board’ endorsed the general manager’s recommendation. Mr. Cooke drew attention to the various conditioris which tenderers had attached to their offers. Several had mentioned that an advantage to the rehabilitation of returned soldiers, would be brought About by the acceptance of their tenders. TENDERER PULLS OUT Archibalds could not proceed, he said. They were released, on the forfeiture of their deposit of £3,195. Answering Mr. Bartholomew, Mr. Cooke said that it was suggested that the propriety of the board’s retaining the deposit was one of the questions he should consider. Fresh tenders were invited for Lots 2 and 3 by lettrs to the previous tenderers, it was reported’ to the board that Gillies were asking and being paid what were considered exorbitant prices, but ’the Board decided It power to interfere The General Manager reported that h hat the market would soon be met, and that Gillies would be left with a lot of unsaleable junk. BOARD OF VALUERS SET UP On April 18, the Prime Minister issued instructions that, before the tenders in the second group were dealt with, a Board of Valuers, consisting of the Board’s own motor transport valuers and a nominee of the Public Works Department, should make a valuation. T 1 committe made a preliminary report and asked for further instructions. The committee stated that approxim-

ately half of the jeeps were loaded on trucks owned by Gillies and Sons, packed below the sides of the bodies: and the trucks were parked in blocks so close together that they could not be properly inspected. Many parts were missing. There was much heavy rust. Many tyres were missing or were deflated, with the wheels in pools of water. It was estimated that the parts from thiee of the trucks would be required’ to make one complete truck chassis, and that the bodies would require extensive repairs. The only way to make an accurate valuation would be to employ a staff of mechanics, to separate the vehicles with cranes and to inspect them under cover. That work would take six months. A cursory examination of them, after separation, could be made in three months. With a crane to lift the jeeps off the trucks and put them back again, they could be valued inaccurately, in eight to ten ■weeks. They could be examined, as they stood, in four to five weeks. But that would be unsatisfactory. A quick appraisal of them could be completed in two or three weeks. There was not the space in the park for the vehicles to be separator for inspection. It was doubtful whether Gillies and Sons would permit the replacing of jeeps in their , trucks after their removal for quick inspection. SALE RECOMMENDED - The Committee recommended that the vehicles be sold as quickly as possible before the winter caused an already serious deterioration to become worse. The frames of many of the vehicles were badlv corroded. They were possibly unsafe. The committee strongly advised the board to sell the vehicles in one lot, then placing the risk of the faults on the purchaser, rather than to sell them individually and have the possibility of complaints from individual purchasers. If there were to be individual prospective purchasers, they would have to clamber over Gillies’ trucks to inspect the jeeps. It was doubtful whether Gillies and Sons would allow that, because of the additional damage that might 11? done to their property. ■ Mr. Cooke had not .finished h)? address when the commission '.T .e till 10.30 a.m to-morrow.