SEARCH FOR OIL TO BEGIN

Southland Times, Issue 23376, 7 December 1937, Page 8

SEARCH FOR OIL TO BEGIN

Promise Of Overseas

Capital PASSING OF MEASURE AWAITED VALUE TO TRANSPORT OF DOMINION (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, December 6. “I have an assurance that when this Bill becomes law a worth-while effort will be made to find out whether we have a flow of oil in New Zealand in payable quantities,” said the Minister of Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb) when opening the debate on the Petroleum Bill in the House of Representatives today. “The discovery of a commercial flow of oil in New Zealand would provide one of the greatest stimulants to industrial development in New Zealand, Mr Webb said. “Whether we have it here in payable quantities is not for me to suggest, but under the present laws an adequate search for oil is not being made. The position is being merely tinkered with and it is quite impossible for small companies with antiquated plant to find out definitely whether we have oil in any quantities. I was on a visit to the Taranaki field and I was impressed at least with the fact that we had oil there. I then said we would bring down legislation along the lines of the English Act and thus remove all barriers which are at present preventing systematic prospecting.” Mr Webb said the State would have to make it sufficiently attractive for private enterprise to become interested, but if private enterprise failed to prospect adequately he would have no compunction in asking the Government to undertake the task. The first problem he had been faced with was a multiplicity of small private owners of likely land with whom private enterprise would have to enter into negotiation before starting a search. It was then decided to overcome that problem by copying the English Act and granting licences for large areas, 200 square miles being the basis decided on, with 100 square miles for mining privileges. CLEARING OF OBSTACLES The Government had realized that the first thing to do was to clear the decks of obstacles in the way of largescale prospecting. In England the principle had been laid down that oil was not private property until taken up from the earth because of its migratory nature underground. Western Australia had copied the English Act and Victoria had followed suit. It was incumbent on New Zealand to make the most systematic efforts possible in the search for oil, Mr Webb continued. At the moment the entire transport system was based largely on oil and its by-products and in the event of hostilities abroad New Zealand’s fuel supplies would be cut off. Australia would also welcome the discovery of oil so near her shores. “The Bill makes it clear that before the Government allows one gallon of oil to be exported from New Zealand the requirements of the local market have to be met,” Mr Webb said. “That means that refineries will have to be established, the necessary staff employed and everything done to provide local requirements in motive power.” Dealing with native rights, Mr Webb emphasized the determination of the Government to protect the rights of Maoris but to suggest that there should be two sets of laws in New Zealand—one for the Maori and one for the Pakeha—was foreign to the politics of the country. Clause 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi made that plain. Oil, because it was a migratory substance, was in a different category from coal and other minerals. When the Bill became law one of the greatest prospecting efforts in the history of the Dominion would be started. There would be capital from overseas ready for use in that direction as soon as the decks were cleared.