REASON WHY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 170, 21 July 1942, Page 6

REASON WHY

DELIVERY ZONING

TYRE CONSERVATION

"My job is to bring about a reduction in the mileage of delivery vans and trucks with a view to conserving rubber and petrol," said Mr. H. M. Christie, North Island zoning officer under the Transport Emergency and Delivery Emergency Regulations, in an interview to-day. He said the regulations provided for zoning schemes. He emphasised that these were not proposals such as would be put into operation by a Government in peace time, but were temporary war measures forced upon New Zealand by enemy action and authorised by the War Cabinet.

Mr. Christie said that he met business interests in Auckland yesterday in continuation of a tour he was making of his district. Representatives of local bodies were also present and he explained what waa necessary to prevent overlapping and unnecessary deliveries. "I made it clear ta the meeting that there is no intention to use the regulations harshly," he said. "Only necessary changes will be made and I feel satisfied that business interests will fully co-operate in an endeavour to substantially reduce mileage in every way possible. Associations representative of particular trades are being asked to submit draft plans of zoning and these will be carefully considered before a recommendation is made to the Minister for gazetting. At the same time, it must be remembered that the circumstances demand urgency and there is no time to gather all necessary data. Decisions must be made at the earliest moment possible." Trial Schemes Mr. Christie said that it might be found necessary in some cases to put a zoning scheme in operation and give it a short trial before a recommendation was made. This would bring about practical results and enable adjustments to be made before the Minister gave his approval. The retail delivery of bread had been largely discontinued already. This also applied to some other commodities. Meat deliveries had been substantially reduced, but the object now was to cut down deliveries to the absolute minimum of all goods. This could only be accomplished with the effective co-operation of

business concerns and the consuming public. "Some inconvenience will be unavoidable," he added. "The proposed measures are absolutely necessary if we are to avoid a complete break-down and chaos in the general conduct of business owing to a complete failure of the transport system." Difference of Opinion Mr. Christie said he was pleased with the general attitude of business men expressed at the meeting. He had informed them that it was essential to have a central consumers' committee, but the proposal had met with a difference of opinion as some speakers were of the view that such a committee would mean unnecessary interference with their businesses. "This is unwarranted," said Mr. Christie. "The business associations will bring forward their own schemes. These may or may not be accepted, as many interests have to be considered, and consumer committees will not function until a scheme is put into operation." The grocery trade presented a problem of its own, Mr. Christie said. Some firms had built up their whole business on delivery, whereas other stores had concentrated on cash-and-carry and would not be affected by zoning of deliveries. He had arrived at no policy in respect to the trade, but Wellington delivery grocers had worked out methods of delivering one another's goods.

The Beer Trade Congestion on the railways as well as shipping congestion were mentioned by Mr. Christie, who said that steps must be taken to eliminate the transport of all commodities which were not a vital necessity at the moment. He instanced the carriage of beer, and pointed out that, it was heavy and bulky and the quantity transported was great. It was a wasteful trade as far as delivery was concerned, and there was no reason why beer should be carried from Auckland to the Bluff and from Dunedi» to Auckland. Empty barrels and bottles also made the return trips. Mr. Christie mentioned that the list of commodities named in the Delivery Emergency Regulations would be substantially increased. He would hold meetings with trade organisations during the next three days.