PETROL AND TYRES

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 278, 23 August 1945, Page 8

PETROL AND TYRES

Position Of Small Licence Holders The position hud been restored so that holders of continuous sixjeinl petrol licences prior to July 31 might still have tyres retreaded ou making application in the usual way to the retreader or authorized dealer, said, the .Minister of Supply, Mr. SULLIVAN, when replying to a question in the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr. Acland (N., Tetuuka) iu conjunction, with Mr. Goosman (N., Waikato), which pointed out that there were many citizens residing some distance from cities and towns who previously held special licences, and who would be debarred from the right to have tyres retreaded. The only difference now, said Mr. Sullivan, was that a procedure had had to be devised to get corroboration that the applicant did, in fact, hold a continuous licence prior to July 31. Mr. ACLAND considered the reply unsatisfactory in that those people, particularly in the country, who had been granted four-gnllou licences had had to prove their essentiality, yet their licences had been cancelled, while those on bigger allocations had been left untouched. Mr. SULLIVAN said the conditions under which petrol allocations had been increased had been the outcome of considerable discussions since VE-day. and the cancellation of those licences had been one of the conditions imposed by the overseas authorities_ handling the supplies for the United Nations. Mr. W. SULLIVAN (N.. Bay of Plenty) suggested that the cancellations must have been a local matter. Mr. SULLIVAN replied that the overseas authorities had stipulated that 50 per cent, of the licences would have to be sacriticed to compensate for the increase in the coupon value. Mr. ACLAND: Why were some of those on the higher licences uot sacrificed ? Air. SULLIVAN said that New Zealand was asked to comply with the conditions in spite of her representations. The Government had been advised recently that the petrol supply position might become more difficult in the, immediate future due to the heavy European requirements for motor transport to replace the dislocated railways. He did not expect, however, that New Zealand would be asked to revert to the original allocation. He could not give an assurance that the small licences would be restored to country users, but he was sympathetic with the request.

The European demand operated similarly in regard to tyres. lie had seen a statement recently which considered it unlikely that there would be a .substantial improvement in the rubber position for a year or IS months, but a more recent statement had expressed American hopes of a considerable improvement during this year.