LIME INDUSTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 5 December 1940, Page 3

LIME INDUSTRY

LEGISLATIVE CONTROL > RECOMMENDED I ! COMMITTEE’S REPORT TABLED IN v HOUSE j j [From Our Own Parliamentary Reporter] 1 WELLINGTON, This Day. I A series of important decisions, 1 including legislative control of the t industry, formulated by the Agricul- j tural Lime Investigational Commit- 1 tee, originally appointed in April, } 1939, is detailed in recommenda- { tions which have been made to the j Minister of Agriculture, Mr Lee j Martin. The report was tabled in t the House of Representatives yes- j terday. s “The diversified conditions under 1 which the industry labours rendered ' the task of the committee from ‘the s outset a difficult one.” the report stated. v tee’Tf it had been possible to generalise £ to any degree, the committee feels that 3 some reorganisation within the industry \1 would have been possible and would f have been reflected in better conditions I both within and outside the industry. In t the circumstances, the committee's I hands have been somewhat tied.” I The first recommendation of the t committee is that the subsidy should \ be 75 per cent, on rail transport, and ’] 60 per cent, on other methods of trans- ] port. It is of opinion that the present I system of subsidy by way of free railage on agricultural lime is inequitable in that it benefits only one section of the farming community and that it is < uneconomic in its present form in its c encouragement of overlapping in rail- . age. The estimate is that the cost of r the scheme to the Consolidated Fund . will in the first year amount to £170,000, based on an output of 500,000 tons. f The figure may be expected to increase g in subsequent years due to the stimu- ‘ lating effect the subsidy is expected to ‘ have on the demand for lime. Control of prices of lime is recommended by the introduction of a sys- c tern of registration of lime-producing 1 companies subject to approval by the r Minister of the analysis and fineness of 1 grinding. The committee also recom- £ mends that registration should be re- £ fused to lime-producing companies fail- 1 ing to comply with the terms under 1 which their registration had been orig- c inally approved. v RENTS AND ROYALTIES ] The institution of legislative control I to ensure that in future rents and 1 royalties paid for the right to quarry lime are regulated within reasonable limits is recommended. It is also proposed that if possible provision should I be made for revising existing contracts * in cases where the charge is deemed v excessive. Another recommendation is that the maximum rate of commission on the a sale of lime be fixed at 10 per cent, of J the selling price, excluding the cost of bags. The fixing of a standard charge a a ton of lime for usage of bags is re- n commended, as also are efforts to ex- | r plore the possibilities within the Domin- * r ion. cl It is also proposed that no prospective lime-producing company be al- ° lowed to issue a prospectus without a first obtaining a license. Proposals for d spreading the peak period of deliveries c are recommended, to make for greater n stability, less congestion, more perm a* a m.ent employment and reduced cost. While it is not felt that the present is v a propitious time for recommending Government assistance for the initial r costs, the committee recommends the c establishment in back country districts n of community crushing plants, and 11 suggests that provision should be made cl for loans to bo. repaid by amortisation. n Except in certain districts which are 11 at present poorly served, the committee * is of opinion that no new quarries *- should be opened up adjacent to or in districts easily served by existing units. Some measure of relief from heavy traffic license fees to farmers using their own trucks is recommended, and the committee is also of opinion that any departure from a fixed schedule of road transport charges would be a retrograde step. CONTROL OF LEGISLATION 1 That the industry should be con- * trolled by legislation and that the ‘ v Minister should take appropriate steps to have legislative control put into action is the final recomj mendation of the committee. A memorandum of dissent to the c committee’s recommendations has been ( signed by Mr N. E. Dalmer, of the s Department of Industries and Com- c merce, who states that the scheme pro- ; viding for payment by way of subsidy j on transport charges only was neither ] equitable nor would it overcome those ‘ deficiencies in the existing system ] which were of chief moment to the 1 Government. i