ASSURANCE GIVEN BY MINISTER

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22509, 17 September 1938, Page 15

ASSURANCE GIVEN BY MINISTER

INVESTIGATION OF LIME 1 JNDUSTRY ; ; -/« NO, INTERFERENCE WITH. V: PRIVATE . "ENTERPRISE" ' . \ ■ An assurance that there was no in- r tention of Government interference .with private enterprise in the lime in- - dustry, except that the industry should be established on a sound economicbasis, was given.. by the Minister far Industries and Commerce D. G. Sullivan) to Messrs C C. Winn (president), I*. Oakley, and L. LL Ait-; ken, of "the Mid-Canterbury proyin- a . cial executive of' the "New Zealand;. Farmers'- Union, who waited on him" at Christchurch last month. - ' This statement was made in a report of a committee of. the union,'which was submitted to the meeting of the -r executive at Ashburton yesterday.Minister further assured file union's-; representatives that there was no-in-7J| tention of inaugurating any scheme - that might, in anyway, be detrimental.;; either to the users or to the industry..; The report added that 'it jnust be ; realised that the magnitude of the sub- t j'ect, which was being investigated by the Government, that what-.",*, ever .was. not be the but- - come of hasty, action. ' " -The report continued that tte.com-ii mittee considered that obvidus \ lies existed in the supply-of JimeA, throughout the country, and.it had ar- - ranged to -wait on the -Minister. The - concern of farmers about lime bad been stated to Mr Sullivan, who/r, replied that the investigation into the. ' industry -was one,of the most difficult undertaken .by the Department of In- *. dustries and' Commerce, and the whole - question would be dealt with by the.v Department of Agriculture., The Min-" - ister was not prepared to divulge for::, -publication the report which had been prepared, but gave the committee a summary of the report in confidence. *** A special report on lime supplies was prepared for the union by Mr - Aitken some time ago, .and the committee was set up to take what action it thought necessary."