WHEAT INDUSTRY INQUIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1929, Page 8

WHEAT INDUSTRY INQUIRY.

The Parliamentary committee that . isj to hold the inquiry into the wheat industry of the Dominion has acted wisely in deciding to have its meetings open to the Press. It has also' decided to take evidence from any person, or organisation interested, and is to prepare its report before the present session is brought to a close. The committee has elected Mr. C. A. Wilkinson its chairman, and the choice is a happy one. Apart from his high personal qualifications for the position,- Mr. Wilkinson laid great stress upon the need for an inquiry into the wheat question when he was seeking the support of the electors. He has reentered Parliament as an Independent, so that his conduct of the inquity is not likely to be swayed by any Party considerations, and his experience in public affairs will enable him to check waste of time by’ the introduction of irrelevant matter. Now that it has been decided the investigation shall be a public one, it is to be hoped the representations on behalf of the consumer will be carefully prepared, and any evidence given supported by facts that cannot be disputed. There have been many complaints of the high cost of bread, and of the by-products of wheat throughout New Zealand in a general way, but if the opportunity of explaining them in detail is not taken advantage of the consumer will ha\c himself to blame if no improvement is brought about; It is fortunate that the inquiry is to cover costs of milling and distribution, for the great bulk of the objection taken to the existing duty on wheat and its products has been due to the feeling that the actual wheatgrower was not receiving the full benefit of the protection afforded the industry. Probably no other inquiry being held by Parliament is so intimately associated with the people of New Zealand as that in regard to the wheat industry. For that reason, among many others, it was desirable that it should be given the widest nublicity.

SOUTH TARANAKI POWER BOARD. The South Taranaki Power Board is to be congratulated on its wisdom in making preparations to disseminate throughout its district information concerning its proposal to raise a ioan of £187,500. It is inviting the ratepayers to attend meetings at various centres, at which its representatives will speak on the board’s policy, and endeavour’ to give any information and explanation desired by members of the audience. Ratepayers certainly will be consulting their own interests if they attend the meetings in large numbers and try to inform themselves fully concerning a project that affects them very closely. Tn these somewhat irresponsible post-war times of lavish borrowing and free spending it is unfortunately difficult to convince many people of the necessity to scrutinise closely the proposals that are submitted to Hicin from time to time by public bodies. In the case of the South Taranaki power scheme, however, the difficulty’ should be less than usual, since various circumstances have combined to arouse interest in the power board’s affairs. It may be also that these circumstances have rather confused some of the onlookers. The lengthy arbitration proceedings, which resulted in an independent tribunal fixing the price at which the power board may purchase the undertaking of the company, possibly conveyed a wrong impression, and the recent establishment of the South Taranaki Power Board Ratepayers’ Association was regarded in some quarters —quite wrongly, its sponsors were quick to point out —as a demonstration of antagonism towards the board. The meetings arranged by the power board should be a means of dispelling any false ideas that may be abroad, provided they arc attended by sufficiently large numbers of the ratepayers. Financially the proposal put forward by the board is one of very substantial magnitude, and the verdict delivered upon it at the poll must have far-reaching effects. The question to be decided Is not the simple one of whether the electric company, which for years past has served, a considerable area faithfully and efficiently, should be permitted to carry on, or whether it should be compelled to hand over its enterprise to a public body. It is not a mere matter of the moment that the voters will be asked to decide; everyone who handles a ballot paper will take part in the shaping of a policy that will influence a large population for very many years.