N.S.W. COAL CRISIS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 November 1929, Page 6

N.S.W. COAL CRISIS

PLAN TO FORCE RESUMPTION. (Australian Press Association) •SYDNEY, Nov. 18. The 'Trades Hall to-day passed a resolution 'dejclairing “black” any transport for coal won from mines to he worked by the New South "Wales State Government, if the shilling per ton wage reduction is carried out. • Mr T. Bavin (Premier of New South Wales) to-day stated: The plain fact is that the State must have coal if essential services are not to be hampered, and unemployment is not to be greatly increased. He said that the State Government had not been stampeded into action. It had had the matter under consideration for some time, but it had withheld a start in order to permit the Federal authorities an opportunity to deal with the matter. That body having failed to secure a resumption of work in the mines, the New South Wales State Government had completed arrangements. One mine, at Rothbury, opens on Wednesday. OYER-PRODUCTION OF COAL. SYDNEY, Nov. 18. At.the Coal Commission to-dav, Mr Frank 'Ylaiiclron, Senior Lecturer on IKconoinics at Sydney Unneisity, gave evidence. He said that the Coal industry was‘burdened with too ■•great' a productive Capacity, ’ both in " equipment and in niah power. Three-quar-ters of the total workable, reserves of coal in Australia lay within NewSouth Wales; and sixty per cent of the best and most accessible deposits were in the ' Northern" N;S.W. fields, about "Maitland and Gcssnock. The witness added that there existed a very considerable concentration 'of ownership and control, which had not been intense enough to prevent free competition among the collieries of all of the 'fields for the available coal business; but it had made possible a non-competitive control of coal values, for it had given the most important collieries in the Northern District a virtual monopoly; and a power to set the price level over an area throughout which the bulk of the coal \vos sold in Australia., Moleover, the demand for coal in 192 1 could have been met with three-quar-ters of. the colliery equipment and of the colliery labour then existing..

WHAT DECISION MEANS

30,000 MEN AFFECTED

(Received this day at. 9.40 -a.m.) ; ' SYDNEY, November 'l9,

The Alining Unions decision means that if the State Government secures sufficient men . to man the' Rothbury mine to-morrow the Alining Unions will withdraw their - men from all other mines,' leaving the Government thine the sole producer rif coni in the State. An appeal will be made to' the Federal Government to take over the mines, and appeal to the people for an endorse ment of their action.

The ominous development in the situation was the action of Trades Hall Unions which up to the present played no part in the dispute,. If the unions withdraw labour from the pits now working, over thirty thousand men will be thrown idle.