Milk Supply

Hutt News, Volume 18, Issue 46, 14 March 1945, Page 5

Milk Supply

PUBLIC MEETING HELD

Approximately forty people attended a public meeting held in the Wesley Hall last Thursday evening and resolved to form a Hutt Valley Milk Consumers Co-operative Society for the purpose of securing an immediately supply of bottled milk. Mr . J. Behrens was appointed chairman, and called on Mr. Dowse as convenor, to make a statement. Mr. Dowse referred to troubles being experienced with the milk at present supplied and quoted figures to show that Wellington Municipal Milk Department could adequately cope with the demand for milk in the Hutt Valley. Everyone in the milk business, s.aid Mr. Dowse, was organised except the consumers and lie hoped that the meeting would eventually growinto an organisation "that would be the voice of the consumer." He formally moved the formation of the Co-operative Society. Mr. . Huggan said he had been delving into the milk question for 13 years and he would not say yet that pasteurization . was right or wrong. He was positive that at least 30 per cent of present day complaints originated in the consumers' own dirty containers. He had inspected the vendors proposed plant at Maungaroa and was convinced that this plant could give a good clean supply of both raw and pasteurized milk. Analysts could control the quality, but to do so they would in turn have to be controlled and paid by the consumer.

Mr. A. Hardham, chairman of the proposed new vendors and suppliers company, was allowed to express the views of the vendors. No. matter what system of control was set up, said Mr. Hardham, people would still get the same milk from the same cows except that it would be bulked milk. Supplies from Wellington would mean day-old milk. The vendors had approached the Government again and again to secure the equipment that would enable it to give effect to the wishes of the consumers. If the Government had helped then Hutt Valley would have had its bottled milk months ago, but a license for thenecessary equipment had been persistently refused.

At this stage several people protested that the meeting was being "side tracked." It had been called to organise a "publicly* controlled milk supply," and not to deal with "wrangles", between the vendors and tfee Government.

Mr.. R. Swart then read, a letter he had received from the General Manager of the Wellington Municipal Milk Department in which "the Hutt and contiguous areas could be supplied with bottled pasteurized milk immediately."

Mr. C, Moran asked whether a vote for the Proposed Consumers' Society would commit the meeting to pasteurized milk only.

The chairman and Mr. Dowse assured the questioner that such was not the case. The new society was merely to give the consumers their own organization which could meet and deal with the various other organizations dealing with this question of milk supply.

The motion was then put and carried unanimously.

The following committee was elected:—'Messrs J. J. Behrens, N. P. Croft, G. M. Deynzer, P. Dowse, R. C. Ewart, F. Freeman, H. V. Horlor, J. Huggin, J. McDonald, J. McWilliams, M. McWilliams.