THE EVIL OF PILLAGING

Chronicle (Levin), 16 October 1947, Page 5

THE EVIL OF PILLAGING

CHRISTCHURCH, Oct. 15. Legislative action to deal ■with pillaging oftenders will be sought by the Harbours Association of New Zealand. This was decided hy the conference of the association today af'ter a iong discussion on the problem which was described as an evil and a scourge. Stntemonts were niade that organised rings were openiting in overseas ports and in New Zcalanci and that pillaging was dune by other than watersiib: workers in lnanv cases. The discussion arose when Mr. W. B. Clarke (Otago) said that the reply of the late Minister of Marino, Mr. O 'Brieri, that action to exclude "sueii gentlenien" convicted of tlicl't or pil lage on the waterfront from tlie wharves, was a inatter for individual boards and did not require an ainend ment of the Harbours Act, inissed the poi n t. A waterside workcr convicte'i of pillaging could avoid the penalty oi boing stooil down for a period by liiuiiion. by transferring to anotlier pori, said Mr. Clarke. Huspension was a farce in rnany eases. The president, Mr. W. II. Price, Said he was informed that one of the sliip ping rompames had to nieet claiins for £11,000 for pillaging in one port. A ring was operating to deal with piliaged goods and it was higli tinie firni action was taken. The problem was too big for individual harbou: boards and legislative acton was neees sary. The bulk of watersiders weri hue honest men but some had drifte-! on to the wharves because they found it an easv wav of living, gave tliem a few pickings and that it was a very prolitalde undertaking. Mr. E. W. Ileenan ( Greynionth) said the Waterside Workers' Unions were out to assist in stopping pillaging Which was more the work of outside rings receiving goods, and would not give a transfer to a suspended worker lightly. "The unfortnnate part is that all workers are not" nnionists," said Mr. Price. "On the Auckland wliarf ldOO to 2000 non-unionists are working. The non-unionists — birds of passage — were the ones who had to be thoughi of. Sir Charles NorWo'od said the problem went further and deeper than tlnwatersider. He had plenty of evidence of eases where pillaging could not have been done by watersiders. A blaek market overseas was working in coujunction with a liody in New Zealand Mr. A. I). MeKenzie (chairman of the Alelbourne Harbour Trust) said the responsibility was 011 the individual port authorities even to the extent of polieing the wharves. The answer to pilt'erring was the compounding of wharf areas with substantial fences and a positive eontrol of all goods and check of cases in all lorries. "The greatest evil of all was in tlu: receiver," said Mr. .T. Melling (Auckland). "If they were fouiul you would get a suiprise as to who is receiving the ptuff from the wharves." Mr. E. P. F. Higgin.s (Napier) sug gested that boards should seek power to exclude convicted persons from the wharves in the manner that such per suus were excluded from racecourses.