DEMAND FOR COAL

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23976, 17 June 1943, Page 6

DEMAND FOR COAL

BIG INCREASES IN RECENT YEARS REASONS FOR DOMESTIC SHORTAGE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 16. The greatly increased demands on New Zealand’s coal production were emphasised by the Minister of Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb), answering an urgent question by Mrs C. C. S. Stewart (Government, Wellington West), when the House met to-day. Mrs Stewart drew attention in her question to the extreme shortage of domestic coal in Wellington. The Minister said that since 1936 the following Increases in consumption of coal had taken place: for gas, 30 per cent.; electric power, 862 per cent.; railways, 50 per cent.; butter and cheese factories, 13 per cent,; meat freezing, 44 per cent.; lime and cement, 61 per cent.; miscellaneous industries, 83 per cent. In addition, said Mr Webb, there were approximately 100,000 tons of additional coal required for military camps, hospitals, and institutions, and he referred to the difficulties of getting coal from Australia. He added that bad working conditions in the Westport and Grey harbours had been responsible for the loss of more than 30,000 tons of coal since Christmas. The main difficulty now. said the Minister, was not a matter of production, but transport. If transport difficulties could be overcome, an early improvement in the coal position could reasonably be expected.