HYDRO-ELECTRICITY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10537, 13 March 1920, Page 9

HYDRO-ELECTRICITY

WAIKAREMOANA SCHEME URGENT BAST COAST DEPUTATION. -PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY. A deputation appointed at Wairoa a fortnight ago by a conference representing all the local bodies on the East Coast from Gisborne to Hastings, waited upon the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works (Sir William Fraser) yesterday morning to urge the immediate prosecution of the Waikaremoana hydro-electric scheme. The Hon. J. G. Coates, who is shortly to take over the Public Works portfolio, was also present. Mr J. Vigor Brown, M.P. for Napier, briefly introduced the deputation, and in doing so apologised for the unavoidable absence of the Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald (ill in Rotorua,l, and of Messrs H. M. Campbell, member for Hawke’s Bay, and Mr W. D. Lysnar, member for Gisborne. Mr Charles Matthews (chairman ot the Cook County Council) urged that the time was most opportune for pushing on with the. hydro-electric schemes, as the shortage of coal and the scarcity of labour wore the two chief factors in holding up a great many industries at present. IMMEDIATE ACTION URGED.

It was, he stated, the expressed opinion of the eight'largo public bodies represented by the deputation that the time had arrived when the work of harnessing Waikaremoana should be proceeded with immediately by the Government. Ho read a resolution to that effect, passed by the Wairoa conference. The resolution also respectfully requested that the Government should unmistakably state (a) whether it intended to do {he work itself; (b) when it would start; and te) when it might reasonably expect to finish the work; and urged that in carrying out hydro-electric works the Government should call for tenders in and outside New Zealand. The local bodies who took part in the conference, said Air Matthews, represented a total capital rateable value of £29,000,000; while "ther local bodies whose interests in the development of the Waikaremoana scheme were immediately linked up with theirs, represented a further capital value of £12.000,000, making a total of £41,000,000, or more than one seventh of the total capital value of the North Island. Supporting the resolution fror Gisborne’s point of view he asked Alinisters to consider the isolation of tho district, which made it very difficult to earn.- on essentia] industries, not only on account of the luVk price of coal, but because of the difficulty of obtaining coni; ' while right at their back door (there was Waikaremoana, with its vast amount of energy going to waste. They held that tho water-power of ibbe Dominion, being a national asset, should be developed by the Government and not bv company capital, so thev asked the Government to start the national scheme at Waikaremoana.

SAVING WOULD BE ENORMOUS. Ho pointed out that electric power would mean a saving to ten freezing works on the East Coast and in Hawke’s Bay of £50,000 per annum, arid with the dairy factories and the flax and woollen milk the saving would be enormous. The local bodies concerned, he stated, would give every assistance possible in the way of lorries or teams-to convoy heavy material to the nearest point on the lino or at the head works, the ’same tef bo paid for at once. As regards labour, he pointed out that more men were engaged at short notice to insulate the s.sr Admiral Codrington than would ho required to do the whole of the work at Waikaremoana; while a- large number of freezing works would shortly bo working half-time or shutting down altogether, so that labour should he available from that source. The East Coast was a rich district, and could Well 'afford to pay any rating that might be necessary. SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT OP “COAL DOLES.” Air Mason Chambers (chairman of the Hawke’s Bay County Council) maintained that it would pay the Government to .borrow on debentures, say, at 6 per cent,, to carry on the work, levy such charges as would pay that interest, and substitute cheaper money wheq it became available. The main thing, ho stated, was that they should feel independent of the erratic coal supplies now doled out to them in hundredweights at a time. At the Wairoa meeting the manager of a large freezing works said that he had only 100 tons of coal; and they were quite dependent on the chance of skipping and upon the goodwill of the miners for coal. Air Massey: Oh, no; there was never any doubt but that the freezing companies should have coal. Air .1. Cork-ill (Mayor of Wairoa) said that, so far as Wairoa was concerned, they had got to do something, as their power plant was used up to its 'full capacity, yet only half the town was supplied with light. They also badly needed a better water supply in these, times of epidemics. To got a supply by gravitation, they would have to go 35 miles away; but, with electric power, they could pump the water from the river only five miles away. “NOT QUITE FAIR.’’

They had completed the petition for establishing a power board to carry out part of the scheme, as agreed to by the Minister for Public Works; but it was felt, that it was not quite fair that they should have to find- the money for their scheme while they had to contribute also towards other schemes, such as that at Lake Coleridge. The demand for power on the East Coast was so great that they thought the national scheme should be

carried out. It would he a reproductive work, and the local bodies concerned would be prepared to meet any shortage and do anything required in tho way of carting, etc. Air Vigor Brown stated that since the previous deputation waited upon Alinisters with regard to tho partial scheme, the country had had an ob-ject-lesson as to what might happen if go-slow continued. Biscuit factories, jam factories, etc., had had to close down, and they must carry put the hydro-electrio schemes ns quickly as possible in order to' protect themselves, even if they had to borrow outside the Dominion.

MINISTERIAL REPLIES

THE LABOUR SHORTAGE. Sir AVilliam Fraser said that all wero agreed as to the necessity of establishing hydro-electric power ' schemes throughout the Dominion as quickly as possible. Ho strongly emphasised the fact that the carrying out of the smaller schemes, as at Gisborne, >) aikohu, etc., would not interfere v ttu, nor postpone, tho carrying out ox tho national scheme. Tho licenses to tho power boards gave them no monopoly of the supply of electricity in any district, and tho local schemes had to bo carried out in conformity with the national scheme. They would, he assured the deputation, help, not hinder, the national scheme by carrying out the Gisborne and other local schemes. Iho smaller schemes would not bo in any way an excuse for not carrying out tho W aikaremoana scheme, nor delay tho scheme. The veto last session was for carrying out tho necessary surveys at AVnikaromoana; there was no appropriation for starting the head works there, but he thought that nest session they should have a vote to start at v> aikaremoana as soon as possible. Air Vigor Brown: That ib what we have oomo hero to-day for. The difficulty at the present time was not- finance, but labour, said tlxe Mmistor. ’ , , Air Vigor Brown: There are plenty of Alaons, good bush-workers, in the district; just the men for this work. Sir AVilliam Eraser; Oh, Alaons! He knew, he added, that he could got whatever labour was necessary, if ho paid tho wages, but that would put up ordinary wages t 6 £1 a day; and he would like to know where the primary industries would be then. He should have at least 300 men at Mangahao, Awapuni, and Waikaremoana to carry on the work properly. He had 100 at Mangahao now, which was enough for tho preliminary work, hut no good for the tunnels ; and ho thought it better to concentrate labour on the more urgent schemes, instead of delaying all three by spreading it over all three. Another difficulty was that of getting the hardwood poles from Australia. He had a million and a half contracted. for now, but could not get them over. There was also the difficulty in getting machinery. He pointed out that the Lake Coleridge scheme was paying its own interest and sinking fund charges, so that they would not have to contribute to it as well as financing their own local schemes. Air -Matthews said that there wero plenty of Alaoris available for tho work, and the Admiral Codrington would bring tho hardwood poles over for them. “NUT TOO DEFINITE.” The Brim© Alinister emphasised the point that three smaller district works contemplated would not interfere with the national scheme. He hoped that the three would be gone on with, and would become very successful, and that in time they would become part of the national scheme. They would really help tho larger scheme. That was tho policy of the Government. There was ■no need to stress the necessity for hy-dro-electric development. That was admitted. It was a pity, perhaps, that it had not been taken up sooner; but the war had prevented that. Ho did not think it advisable that the Government should pay 6 per cent, for debentures _ for the schemes, as that would make 6 per cent, at least the current rate of interest in the Dominion. He believed they could get tho money when desired at less than 6. per cent.; and it was their duty to keep down the rate of interest as much as possible so as not to harass people throughout the country. The great difficulty was labour, and tho Government might take them at their word in regard to Alaori labour. Delegates; Do it now.

Mr Massey said that the plain fact was that they had not got the necessary labour; and, while .they wished wages to be as high as possible, they could not pay £1 a day and rob other industries. So far as coal was concerned, ho did not mind telling them that a settlement had been arrived at, and he believed it would continue and that they would get a great deal more coal soon than they had had in tho past. Last year’s vote was purely for surveys; and development work at Waikaremoana could not be gone on with-until there was a sum on the Estimates for it. Ho did not say there should not bo a sura jilaccd on the Estimates for it, and ho would consult with the new Minister for Public Works and his colleagues us to putting a vote before Parliament next session. He did not say that Parliament would not approve the vote; but members would want to be quite sure that tho vote would not mean delaying the work in their own districts. Air Matthews: You must agree that the East Coast has had a bad spin, in regard to both hydro-electric works and railways.

Air Massey quite agreed. The district had been out in the cold long enough; and ho believed that from the point of view of productivity it was on© of th© most important districts in the country. All he could say was that, as head of the Government—he was not going to be too definite —Cabinet would consider whether it would pot be wise to place a sum of money on the Estimates for the purpose of carrying on work at AVaikaromoana.

Air Corkill pointed out that no tunnelling was required at AVaikaremoana. Tho heaviest part of tho work was the erection of the poles, and tho natives could do that quite well. In reply to a question by the Mayor of Gisborne, Air Massey said that they would got electricity from the smaller schemes far sooner than from the larger schemes.

From this delegates dissented, Air Matthews contending that if tjio work was let out in separate contracts they wAuld get electricity from tho larger scheme much sooner than from the local schemes.

Mr .Massey said that the Government was just as anxious as the deputation to push these works along, hut they must be taken in order. It all came back to the scarcity of labour, and they must do the best with tlm labour they had, ilr Brown: Tf the. Government provide tho money, wo will guarantee to find 300 men to carry on the work.