SHIPPING PORTS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 79, 2 March 1929, Page 8

SHIPPING PORTS.

GOVERNMENT’S POLICY. CENTRALISATION OPPOSED. Per Press Association. NAPIER, March 1. The Prime Minister 'to-night made a definite statement in reply to Mr W. E. Barnard, M.P. for Napier, that the Government is opposed to the centralisation of shipping. “I can assure you,” he said, “that the policy of the Government is that it won’t support any proposal. to centralise shipping in the main ports that is going to be a detriment of the other ports.” This country possesses ,a number of harbours of great value and service to their districts. They cannot all be the size of those of the four main centres, but they are serving a useful purpose. If such a scheme was carried out, they would become stalemate harbours; trade, would go to the main centres ,and this would operate against the development of th© district they serve. If the Dominion had net had these local harbours years ago, there would never have been the- progress there has. New Zealand is unlike many other countries; we have towns from end to end and many of them hav© their outlets in the harbours that have been built. I would be very sur. prised to find the great shipping interests that serve this country and do their work so well doing anything in favour of centralisation. As a matter of policy, I am satisfied that centralisation would be injurious to this country ,anu I am convinced that in adopting a policy in opposition to it we will be supported by the House of Representatives. The harbours eye have now we want to develop and make more useful in serving the country.” In reply to the Mayor, Mr J. Vigor Brown, who asked if the Premier had received the statement mad© by the chairman of the Napier Harbour Board that the Railway and Marine Departments favoured centralisation, Sir Joseph Ward said that no such suggestion had come before Cabinet. When the Minister of Marine recently attended the Harbour Boards’ Conference he had the full authority of Cabinet to oppos© any move towards centralisation.