CONTROL OF MINES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 54, 1 September 1944, Page 7

CONTROL OF MINES

STATE OWNERSHIP

MINISTER'S STATEMENT

The claim that ttie coal mines that had been bought by the State had been the salvation of the economic life of the Dominion was made by the Minister of Mines (Mr. Webb) when he was speaking in the Budget debate in the House of Representatives last night. Some of the Opposition members, said Mr. Webb, had criticised the State purchases, but the State had not gone into the buying of the mines lightly. It had not wanted to buy them, but the coal they would produce was needed. Where would the industries of New Zealand have been without that coal? Factories and freezing works would have had to close and the whole economic life of the countrywould have been stifled. The question was not whether .it was costing a shilling here and a shilling there; the question was what the mines meant to the ecoonmic life of the country to have them worked properly. While the production of coal was one thing, its transport was another, said Mr. Webb, who referred to the im--8? ™nee of an all-weather harbour on the West Coast and of ships of a suitable draught being employed in the coal trade To provide the bituminous coal that was so essential to the economic life of the North Island, there must £>c the facilities to transport it from the West Coast. The harbours presented difficulties, but investigations were" being made and he hoped something worthwhile would be the result. OPEN-CAST MINING. It was necessary, said Mr. Webb, to iaceup to a new method of coal production. He went on to refer to the development of the open-cast method of winning coal that was close to the surface in almost every part of New The open-cast method had brought about a complete economic reys« tl on in the handling of coal. About 1000 tons a day was being handled at the present^ time by the operation of mis method, and in comparison with me cost of underground mining the cost was very small. He felt confirm J? at by Ch«stmas time, given a little fine weather, open-cast mining would be producing over 2000 tons of coal a day. No miners in the world had given better service than the New Zealand miners during the war, said Mr. Webb but there were few miners who had been more abused by chambers of He was firmly, convinced that at the end of the year the Dominion would have a greater production of coal than at any time in its history, said the Minf'u ™ reply t0 a Question on output by Mr. T. C. Webb (National, Kaipara), he said that the production per Snff^Bß^ 16! thi rd larges*in the hfttor? S «S^ Z? aJu n?'*? ld that was in spife of the fact that three or four hundred inexperienced men had to be taught last, year. The coal mines of New Zealand had by rX S1f tlVely * des*r°yed and ruined sL*^♦ «nter Prise. If the coal cs, 1? jsst of tons of coai X JS^fffaking*taking * -an ap *>eal- in interests of the nation, that not one ton ?L coai + .should be sacrificed-it was in the national interest that coal should Sinf^wo^ s ec°nomicaUy as possible. He believed that if there was Dvethe mS dity,tl?at Should & SJed oy the State and worked for the nnr ev«y pSsSle Pton, CONTROL OF MINES. "Everything I could do to get con trol of the mines I would d™' said the Minister "but I would not Try to K CZe th,? m °ut to *et PoieSn of £??» -Wder war regulations. Every oCd Vl haVe, takei? over has S v™ to us by P«vate enterprise" For many years private enternrSe ITS 17 -n!?^ed boring ? 0 7 Pco a i s«to°g^e^asvf SdfSi*' m feet d °wn to 1100 feet" ledge thS°S mci\ tha? had no l^ow. *f to Lv* 13* coal existed. wmsm msm t*«t ' / or fear that some of the mili&v UrS gfl° Strang?e ! h" minSg in-" concerned. M PriVate c«P**d was The Minister of Mines: Private enterprise is strangling it themSves cKin? Tvi 6 n?t concerned with criticising the miners, we nlace thp r& sponsibility entirely W on Pthe Govern"rnent," continued Mr. Bodkin "The S°d V u ?S ent to°k complete pSitrolbf industrial man-power, and it was mi?t m 4. the Provlnce of the, Government to man-power additional men to the mines and make it possible to work continuous shifts, if necessary" «SE \ nterests of the war effort. olainX I s ihe, l ood- ? f the Minister claiming to put the interests of efficiency first when he has failed to take any action along those lines to ensure increased output of coal? All sorts of expressions of goodwill towards the «£« erm£° £ ot im Prove the coal posi£°£JF he G°vernment is in complete control of man-power, the coal is there to be won, the machines are mere to be worked, and why does not tne Government man-power sufficient labour into the mines to win a sufficient quantity of coal?"