SEARCH FOR OIL

Southland Times, Issue 23379, 10 December 1937, Page 6

SEARCH FOR OIL

START EXPECTED IN SIX MONTHS DISCUSSION ON ROYALTIES DEFERRED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, December 9. After an assurance by the Minister of Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb) that an opportunity would be provided later in the session for a discussion in Parliament on the division of royalties on oil found in New Zealand, the Petroleum Bill was passed in the House of Representatives today. Agreement on this point was reached as a result of an arrangement between the Minister and the Opposition and an amendment which had been moved by Mr W. J. Broadfoot (Nat., Waitomo) with the object of returning a proportion of the royalties to the landowners, particularly Maoris, was withdrawn. “During the debate on Monday it became apparent that because of the late stage the Bill might not be passed during the present part of the session,” said the Minister. “When the Bill came before the House for discussion I realized the important nature of the Bill, with which I have been dealing for about two years, and I felt that there was an opportunity to have this country thorouglily prospected for oil. I did not think that any division of opinion on the question of royalties was big enough to prevent us from getting the Bill through and setting the drills working.

“I approached the Opposition,” Mr Webb continued, “and explained that in the first place we had to find the oil and that it might be years before royalties had to be considered. I said that if the impression was going abroad that we were trying to take away from the Maoris something the Treaty of Waitangi entitled them to, there was little chance of getting the Bill through. The House wants the Bill, the country wants it and the oil interests want it, and we have arranged that later in the session there will be an opportunity for a discussion on royalties. I hope the House will agree to the spirit of this undertaking. Later we will discuss the question of how royalties are to be divided, if they should be divided at all.” MODERN BORING PLANT The Minister said he was confident that probably within six months of the passing of the Bill one of the biggest and most modern boring plants in the world would be operating in New Zealand and surely the opportunity was too good for the House to let it go. If the Bill did not go through it would be a national—almost an Empire—catastrophe. The Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton): If the Minister gives an undertaking that the division of royalties—. The Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash): That is not the question. The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage): It is the question whether there should be any royalty at all. That is still open. Mr Hamilton: My opinion is that it is a question of the division of royalties. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Nat., Kaipara) said the amendment moved by Mr Broadfoot provided for part of the royalty to be paid to the landowners, and as he understood it the agreement was that that point should be open for discussion later.

Mr Hamilton: We are all agreed that the royalty should be paid. It is a question of how and to whom it should be paid. The Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata (Nat., Eastern Maori) said he had just heard of the arrangement. He asked that the Minister should meet the Ngatiporou tribe' before issuing any prospecting licences. If the legislation enabled the oil companies to enter on native land in the East Coast district before there was any understanding about royalties it was possible, as witnesses before the Native Affairs Committee had stated, that there might be trouble. Mr J. Thorn (Lab., Thames): You should not encourage the tribe in that attitude. COMPANIES SEEKING OPTIONS Sir Apirana: We have had trouble before in this country. Oil companies have been seeking options from the Ngatiporou tribe for the last 60 years and the natives believe there is oil there. “I was under the impression that Sir Apirana was quite aware of the arrangement that has been made,” said Mr Webb in reply. “I am quite prepared to meet any tribe and to listen to any representations that may be made. It will probably take three months before a prospecting licence can be issued.” Mr Broadfoot then withdrew the amendment.

The measure was put through the committee stages without discussion and passed with the amendments proposed by the Mines Committee some days ago.