WHEAT DUTIES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 269, 28 October 1932, Page 8

WHEAT DUTIES

COSTS BETWEEN GROWER AND CONSUMER CONFERENCE TO CONSIDER METHOD OF REDUCTION. MINSTER’S VIEWS ON SUBJECT. (From Our Special Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, October 28. A denial that there was any variation in his views expressed on the sliding scale of wheat duties at Hamilton, Timaru, and Christchurch was made by the Hon. C. E. MacMillan in the House of Representatives last night. • "It is just a question of attitude,” suggested Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central). The Minister: I am built on such lines that climatic conditions do not affect me. Mr Fraser: You are a man of real weight. After outlining the statements he had made in the South Island to conferences of growers at Timaru and Christchurch, Mr MacMillan expressed a. hope that Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Egmont) would attend the conference to be held at Wellington to endeavour to find a method of reducing costs between growers and consumers and to state the point of view of the consumers. Mr Wilkinson said he would be very pleased to attend. Mr MacMillan recalled that he had suggested to people in the South Island that there should be some equalisation of prices between the consumer in the North Island and the consumer in the South Island. The criticism was prevalent that the South Island obtained the benefit of the sliding scale while it was never intended that anyone other than the grower should get that benefit. It was not intended that a group of merchants in either island should reap the reward of the sliding scale. The position now was that one set of consumers was .getting an advantage over another set, the feeling of the North Island being that the consumer in the South Island, as well as the producer, had the advantage. It was therefore advisable to have a conference to bring about some adjustment, and the idea should appeal both to the consumer in the South Island as well as in the North Island, for consumers did not care where the wheat was grown as long as they got it at a reasonable cost. Mr Wilkinson: Provided the price is reasonable. The Minister: It will be all the same to the consumers, whether they are in the North or the South Island. I think the conference will go a long way towards assisting Us in arriving at a better state of affairs.