WAIKAREMOANA SCHEME

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 18, 16 October 1919, Page 4

WAIKAREMOANA SCHEME

. GOVERNMENT URGED TO PROCEED. A doputation from the Hawke's Bay and East Coast districts waited on the Prime Minister yesterday to urge that tho Government proceed at once with the development of tho Waikarenioana hydroelectric scheme. Mr. Brown, introducing tho deputation, said that tho district felt that it would be handicapped ia competition with other districts which would have the benefit of cheap power. Mr. G. Hunter supported the deputation, assuring tho Minister that it .was rerjreaentitivo of all interests in HawkVe Bay. Sir John Findlay impressed the opinion- that in .new of his puhlic utterances the deputation had come to a. sympathetio Minister*

Mr. Chadwick said that claims residing Waikaromoana as a source of. power were admitted, and experts agreed that the scheme would be simple, end. economical. The only valid objection to th» scheme was H'aiit of access to the transmission, but a? the road was the only main route in the district, it was reasonable to expect that this vould. receive the attention of the Government. In view of the intention of the Government to go on with the Maiigahno end Arapuni schemes, the people of the East Coast were anxious that tho Waikaremoana enterprise, the third feature of Mr. Parry's plan for the North Ma-nd, should not bo forgotten. Tho district* could not wait long for the power, and tho Act giving tho local bodies powc-r to go on with hydro-elect™ scheme* would have a bad in ths district, liwause the local bodice would »inbark on smaller schemes, whiah would lw of little value when the Lig scheme was completed. Mr. Kinross White spoke of the iliatot ests of the freezing industry in any scheme for the production of cheap power for , the works. Other speakers were:—Messrs. J. J, Laiigridgo, Gilbert il'Kay, and the Hon. W. J. Geddis.

Mr. Massey said that )>e ' had been much impressed with the iirguiaents in favour of tho utilisation of the raw products of the country by the. encouragement of secondary industries. There was a good outlet lor New Zealand woollen goods iu America, for instance. Hβ rtgarded the schemes u<. being important for tho reason that they would conserve tho coal supply of the country. Tha outlook at present in the mining troub'.a was slightly more hopeful ; but hydroelectric development would obviate ths necessity for heavy cost of transport of coal from the most inaccessible parts of the country. There was . apital enough iu the country to enable the work to go on at ouco, but there wa» a lack of labour. Ho assured the deputation that the Government had no intention of overlooking H&wko'.s JJay in this very iiu* nortant matter of. hydroelectric development. Mr. Brown pressed tho Minister for a promise that tho Waikaremoana scheme would be undertaken at an onrly "date. Mt. Masvey replied (h;i£ he could promise no more than that he would do his best for the people cf Huwke's Bay, who had his sympathy.