MASTER CARRIERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26113, 28 March 1946, Page 5

MASTER CARRIERS

INDUSTRY’S PROBLEMS DOMINION CONFERENCE SAFEGUARDING PRIVATE ENTERPRISE Between 30 and 40 delegates to the New Zealand Master Carriers’ Federation from all parts of New Zealand met in conference yesterday under the chairmanship of the president, Mr C. J. Mahon, of Auckland. After being welcomed to the city by the Deputy Mayor (Cr J. McCrae), who commended the industry for the excellent service which it had. maintained during the war years and wished the conference success, the delegates made good progress with a full order paper. The business of the conference will conclude to-morrow, and on Friday the delegates will be taken on a tour of the Taieri plains. The president of the Otago branch of the federation (Mr W. W. Watt) was the chairman at a social function in the Somerset Lounge last night. The address to the conference yesterday by Mr Mahon and the remits from the various branches discussed the problems being faced by the industry. Mr Mahon made particular reference to the menace to private enterprise embodied in the declaration of national routes. He emphasised that the implementing of that policy would have to be watched very closely. Mr Mahon said that during the past twelve months the usual trials and tribulations inseparable from a lack of affinity between two bodies had been the lot of the town carrier in his relations with the transport authorities. Many of those wdrries could have been avoided if the earlier policy of consultation with the industry had been continued by the present Minister of Transport. The president reviewed the negotiations with the Minister and the efforts to gain access to the Minister of Finance, Mr W. Nash, and the Prime Minister, Mr P. Fraser, on the subject of the renewal of licences and other problems in April, 1945. It had been necessary to resort to publicity to obtain a clarification from the Minister. "From this episode," he said, “it ?s hoped that no Minister will in future imagine he can cane and stand in the corner until he is a good boy any representative of the transport industry." Rights of Licensed Operators

While disclaiming any intention of advocating the imposition of irksome restrictions on any branch of industry, Mr Mahon said that nevertheless the free and unfettered use of fleets of trucks to transport what the Government designated “its own goods" was naturally a cause for irritation' and concern.

With the restrictions placed on licensed operators in the matter of increasing their licences, it naturally followed that if the licensed operator could not supply the vehicles and service required by the would-be hirer, the hirer became an operator without licence, by putting on his own vehicle, Mr Mahon continued. Thus the licensed operator lost work to the ancillary user, and it would therefore seem unwise to oppose any applications for new authorities made by established operators. “ My own opinion," he said, “ is that a test of the terms ‘own goods’ and ■ hire and reward ’ should be sought from the highest authority. Otherwise the right and opportunity of the licensed operator to provide an efficient public service will be whittled away until his case becomes hopeless, rates, tribunals, licensing authorities, regulations, Ministers’ policies, etc., notwithstanding. Menace of National Routes

Mr Mahon said he considered that the outstanding menace at present was the declaration of national routes. If

that were persisted in, he feared that private enterprise in the road transport of both goods and passengers would receive its death blow. Great vigilance would have to be exercised in watching every step taken to implement that policy. The danger of contract clauses in rates schedules was realised, he continued, and everything possible would be done to guard against the insertion of such clauses in schedules. New vehicles, spare parts, and the availability, quality and prices had been the subject of frequent inquiry by correspondence and personal appeal. The results had been mostly negative. The Licensing System A remit from the Otago branch that the incidence of transport licensing be either abolished or revised, provoked a discussion on the virtues of the licensing system and the need for a. revision of the appeal procedure to provide greater opportunity for an applicant to have his case discussed. Mr F. Goodwin (Otago) said that, generally speaking, there was no desire to return to the conditions that existed before licensing was introduced. There was room for improvement in the system, however, and he advocated that there should be greater opportunity for presenting a case to the appeal authorities It was considered that a written submission did not give an applicant sufficient scope. There was general support for the existing principle of licensing and agreement that the appeal procedure could be improved. Several speakers referred to the rights of individual operators to present their cases, and a motion was carried advocating that when an operator was involved in an appeal, he should have the right to state his case either in person or through a representative at a public hearing. A further motion expressed the opinion that submissions by an applicant should not be required before the actual hearing of a case. Expansion Difficulties The difficulties faced by licensed operators in expanding their businesses to cope with a genuine increase of work were outlined when Mr J. M. Simson (Auckland) moved that licensed operators should be afforded the same • facilities and opportunity to expand ■ their businesses as were enjoyed by ancillary users It was urged that such action would not prejudice rehabilitation and that it would, in fact, be a better means of advancing rehabilitation than enabling returned men to start in hopeless competition with established fleets of vehicles. It was submitted that the machinery was already in existence to enable operators to increase their fleets to meet legitimate business, and the following motion, moved by Mr E J. Price (Auckland) was carried:—” That representations be made to the Government that the licensing authorities interpret the Transport Licensing Act as it is written and not as a matter of Government departmental policy " The portion of the remit dealing with the abolition of transport licensing lapsed, and that recommending a revision of the

system was adopted. The question was referred back to the branches with a request that they should submit suggestions for the revision of the Transport Act.

An amended remit from Otago urging the abolition or revision of the incidence of heavy traffic fees was adopted. Works Department Policy The following remit from Wellington was carried:—“That in view of the fact that the Works Department has recently notified carrying firms with which it has contracted for up to 40 years that their services are no longer required, the department be asked for a clarification of its future policy.”

It was decided that the federation should co-operate with the Road Transport Alliance in an effort to obtain a clarification of the policy of the Works Department on this question.

Speed Restriction The anomaly of the present speed restriction of 25 miles an hour was stressed by Mr H. Hayes, who moved a remit on behalf of the Hutt Valley branch that the speed limit be increased to 40 miles an hour on first-class roads outside retricted areas. Mr Hayes said that a modern vehicle did not perform properly until it was travelling at 30 miles an hour. There was no justification for the differentiation between trucks and passenger vehicles of the same weight. The improvement in the springing and braking of trucks made the existing restriction farcical. The remit was adopted. Delay In Handling Goods

The difficulties of handling goods at railway yards in some centres as a consequence of what was described as a lack of discipline in railways staffs were outlined by a number of speakers when Mr L. J. Lyons presented the following remit from the Wellington branch:—" That the federation discuss with the Railways Department the question of carriers having to handle goods at railway yards which would, but for the labour shortage, be done by railway employees, and seek permission for such carriers to charge the Railways Department for such work performed by them." It was alleged by several delegates that lack of discipline in some railway staffs resulted In a great deal of wasted time and a great deal of work for drivers which should be done by railway labour. An improvement in this respect was very much overdue. The remit was approved. The elimination of wasted time was also the aim of a remit from Wellington which asked the federation to negotiate with the Warehousemen’s Association with a view to securing a uniform lunch hourclosing by warehouses in all centres The remit was adopted. Liability of Common Carrier

Arising from a remit from the Otago branch asking that the federation to have the " liability of common carriers ’’ determined, a motion was carried referring to the executive the question of having legislation Introduced to limit the maximum liability of common carriers. Petrol Taxation Delegates were unanimous in their support of the following remit from the North Otago branch: “That the federation make urgent representations to the Government to have removed the special addition of 4d on the retail price of motor spirits which was levied for war purposes."