THE ZONING QUESTION

Matamata Record, Volume XX, Issue 1855, 2 August 1937, Page 3

THE ZONING QUESTION

MORRINSVILLE VIEWS Support for Directors After hearing from the directors how the zoning of cream supplies in Waikato was likely to operate, those present at the annual meeting of the Morrinsville Dairy Company passed the following resolution: “ That this meeting of shareholders in the Morrinsville Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., appreciates the discussion upon the question of zoning in the Waikato, and views with concem the possibility of any of the present suppliers to the company being ordered to supply any other company and the right of operating for new suppliers on present cartage service routes being taken away, and this meeting authorises the board of directors to take all necessary steps lo preserve the interests of the company.” CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT “ The Executive Commission of Agriculture has been given power to shift suppliers and shut up factories and do practically . anything,” said Mr. Leeson. " Your directors have always been against this practice of buying and selling suppliers.” Recent events had made it necessary to take part in negotiations for the dis- ' posal of the business of the Taupiri and Waikato Valley companies.

“ Zoning does what I have always set my face against—it means there is no competition among companies,” said Mr. Leeson. “ I have been dairying for many years, and I have been in the position when we could supply only one company. lam satisfied about this: that if competition is done away with the suppliers are going to have a hard time. (Hear, hear.) “ In a district like this we see no reason for zoning supplies. The lorries come in fully loaded. The amount we would save is infinitesimal. I think more good would result from doing away with some of the overlapping officials in Wellington. “ Zoning has, been the reason for many meetings, and conferences which your directors have attended recently,” continued Mr. Leeson. “ I told Sir Francis Frazer that I would not be a party to the buying and sell-' ing of suppliers, and that if it was to be done he would have to do it himself. Everybody should have the choice of supplying two different Companies. It is against every principle of British liberty to say that a supplier shall not have the right to go here and go there. “ I hope that the action of the directors will have the unanimous backing of this meeting. (Applause). The directors have had a most strenuous year. We were told that when the guaranteed price came in we would have nothing to do. But this is not so. There have been extra meetings over zoning and the buying and selling of the Waikato Valley and Taupiri companies. “ The secretary has had a strenuous time. When I saw your secretary in contact with the representatives of other companies and people of consequence I can assure you that you have the finest man ag secretary and the equal of any of them. (Applause). “ The tendency of all these officials seems to be to shove us all into one dairy company,” added Mr. Leeson. “ I experienced three years of that, and in one year three independent factories started. We were willing to do anything to get out of the big monopoly. To-day we are hearing all about the savings to be gained from competition, but we heard

the same things when we signed up for amalgamation many years ago.” Mr. F. W. Seifert (vice-chairman) said he had pointed out to Sir Francis Frazer that the only two reasons for zoning were to improve quality and to reduce costs. If the small companies were wiped out would costs be kept at a reasonable level? Zoning should not be introduced merely to " boost ” one company at the expense of others. Suppliers should say whether they were going to allow the right to conduct their own affairs to be filched from them. EFFECT ON COMPANY Asked how many of the. company’s suppliers were liable to be handed over to other companies if zoining were carried out on the lines suggested, the secretary (Mr. J, L. Faulkner) replied: “ About 80 per cent of our suppliers are safe.” Mr. Leeson read a letter from Sir Francis Frazer, chairman of the Executive Commission of Agriculture, in reply to one from the company which stated that the proposed zoning “would net reduce your company’s supply.” Before the company had

started building its new store it had obtained this information, because the directors wanted to know the position of the company seeing that there was ■** a cloud hanging over.”

“ I would say nothing about it if there was going to be any saving to the industry from zoning,” added Mr. Leeson, “ but I fail to see that there will be any saving. All the cream lorries serving the district are fully loaded; in fact, the only complaint would be that sometimes they may be loaded too much.” WHY PICK ON FARMERS ? Mr. G. H. Pirrit, who was a provisional director of' the company in 1922, and has been living in Auckland of late, said he wondered just why the Zoning Commission had been set up. In every industry there was overlapping, so why start zoning with farmers? In his street in Auckland he noticed eight milkmen, six bakers and seven butchers serving the householders. “ And then,” said Mr. Pirrit, “ they pick on the farmer and zone him in the first place! There is no more overlapping in the collection of cream than there is in the delivery of goods in the cities and other places. It is just a case of picking on the farmer and making an example of him.” Mr. Seifert said the directors did pot fear the result of negotiations as long as they knew they had their suppliers behind them in a body. The secretary explained “ the twofactory rule ” adopted by the Zoning Commission. This meant that a farmer was given the right to supply either of the nearest two factories irrespective of whether these factories were owned £y the same company. “We have been assured repeatedly by the Executive Commission that existing suppliers would not be interfered with,” said Mr.

Faulkner, who read the latest order issued by the Commission. Under this order numbers of farmers who had been supplying the Morrinsville company for years would be zoned away.

In further discussion it was suggested that a series of meetings should be held throughout the Waikato to let farmers know the position regarding zoning. The opinion was expressed that farmers would say “ no ” to the zoning proposals.