OIL COMPANIES

Southland Times, Issue 21831, 7 October 1932, Page 6

OIL COMPANIES

ADVERTISING HOARDINGS. OBJECTION TO ABOLITION. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, October 6. An objection to the proposed abolition of advertising hoardings by oil companies was raised in the House of Representatives this afternoon by Mr P. Fraser (L., Wellington Central), who claimed that the maintaining of this clasj of advertising provided work for a number of men. In reply, the Acting Minister of Employment, the Hon. A. Hamilton, said that the removal of hoardings by the owners was a matter for themselves and not for the Government, but he believed their removal would provide more work than their upkeep. Mr Fraser asked the Minister — (1) Whether he was aware that various oil companies in the Dominion had decided for aesthetic reasons to discontinue their poster advertising and to dismantle their hoardings; (2) Whether he would ascei-tain from the oil companies the number of men who would lose employment through this decision, the number of wives, children and other dependents affected and the yearly amount of wages permanently lost; (3) Whether he would ascertain the estimated total saving to oil companies as a result of their decision in regard to the poster; (4) Whether he would immediately urge oil companies (a) to postpone giving effect to their decision until unemployment had been reduced very considerably or (b) to make provision in other positions for men who will be displaced, or (c) to donate the amount saved to the Unemployment Fund or to some other fund for relieving unemployment. The Minister said he was aware that oil companies in response to requests from responsible quarters had agreed to remove the hoardings from certain beauty spots. Mr Fraser: They are going to remove all of their hoardings. The Minister said that he did not think so. He understood that only certain hoardings were to be removed from beauty spots and that should not be objected to. Mr H. T. Armstrong (L., Christchurch East): Why should they be removed at all? Mr W. J. Polson (1., Stratford) to Mr Armstrong: You have no aesthetic appreciation. The Minister said that the companies owned the hoardings and it was their own business what they did with them and he could not see how he could interfere, even if he wished to do so.