NEW ZEALAND COAL.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20094, 25 November 1930, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND COAL.

+ GOVERNMENT'S POLICY. [THE rUBSS Specir.l SarTi.-:.! A IrCKLAND,l r CKLAND, November -•!. Or.lv 7000 tons of Australian coal, none ct which wns used by tho railway.l-, was imported to New Zealand during October, according to a stateniont madf this norning by tho Hon. A. J. Murdoch. Minister for Mines, when speaking at the United Party reception. Mr Murdoch said his aim was to place the administration of the Department on a sound basis and to make the eonl-mininti propositions reproductive. So far, good progress hnd b*en made m that direction. The Department had been accused of cutting the rates on coal, but that charge was not correct; it was the coal-owners iu Auckland proviuce who had started rate-cutting. The Department had leased its mine on very good terms nnrt dip rwinlt nvmlrl t-,« l-ionoljcinl (o the province, apart from the fact 'that *2OO men who would otherwise have been unemployed had obtained work. A voice: You have broken the coal ring.

'lho .Minister: Wo are not taking credit for that. There are more men employed, and you are getting coal at a cheaper rate. Owing to the efforts of the Department, the Minister continued, only 7000 tons of coal was imported to New Zealand from Australia Inst month. Not one t"n of that coal was used on the New Zealand railways. Representations to various gasworks had resulted in their using only nhout 500 tons :>f imported coal. That was an achievement of which the Department was justly proud. lie hoped in the near future that even that amount of coal would hp able to ho reduced. Every tou_ of coal imported meant throwing New Zealandeis out of work, and the aim of the Department was to keep the mines going. In his opinion there wero more mines open than were required, and to keep these going at nearly full time it had been decided some time ago not to grant any fresh licenses until the present position had righted itself. That policy would be adhered to until such time as the mines operating were unnble to provide the quantity of coal required in Ne'.v Zealand.