PETROL PROFIT

Northern Advocate, 26 October 1935, Page 12

PETROL PROFIT

PRICES DISCUSSED AGREEMENT SOUGHT LABOUR’S COMMENT. [From Our Parliamentary Special.l WELLINGTON, This Day. When a report was presented in the House of Representatives yesterday from the Industries and Commerce Committee on a petition asking for the fixation of a minimum price for the sale of motor spirit considerable discussion ensued. • ,; . ’ Labour members at once commenced to criticise the Government for failing to. make Use of the Motor Spirit (Regulation of Prices) Act of 1933, Tfchich provides for the fixation of maximum and minimum prices for petrol. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr M. J. Savage, said that he had seen a report and balance sheet of the. Associated Motorists’ Petrol Company, ahd this revealed a remarkable degree of prosperity. It showed that on June 11 last the ordinary shareholders of the company received' a dividend of 350 per cent, after ten per cent, had been paid to preference shareholders. The curious thing was that members of the company were the very people who had petitioned for the legislation now on the Statute Book authorising the fixation of petrol prices. It was quite clear that an injustice was being done, not only to the users of motor spirit, but also to those who were reselling it., The big oil companies were getting away with most of the* profit. Mr Forbes, the Prime Minister, said that the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Hon. R. Masters, had been using- every effort to make a working agreement and from the Government’s point of view it was much better to have a satisfactory arrangement than to step in with compulsory legislation that would require an army of inspectors to administer it. There was no doubt that there were far too many petrol pUmps in the country, but the Labour party could hardly suggest that some of them should be closed down and' hundreds of people thrown out of work. The Primq Minister said it was impossible to. have a uniform rate in the city and,• at the. same time, give the fnan with a small turnover a sufficient living. The Government was doing its best to arrive at a satisfactory agreement so "far as prices, were concerned.