WELLINGTON STATION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 638, 16 September 1933, Page 5

WELLINGTON STATION

(Press Assn.-

TENDER CONDITIONS MANUFACTURERS FEDEiRATION EXPRESSES ITS DIS APPROVAL MR. COATES' REPLY

— By Telegraph — Copyrlgh t) .

Wellington, Friday. Correspondence with regard to the tenders for the new railway station at Wellington has been handed to the Press by the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation. The first letter, which was from the Federation to the actin'g-Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, sets out certain terms in the speeification which the federation thought favoured overseas competitors to an extent that would shut out Dominion manufacturers altogether, and were contrary to the conditions adopted by the Public Works Depart'ment and Stores Control Board-, which invariahly stipulated that the Dominion and overseas counti'ies be placed on the same level as regards exchange, customs and saies tax. The board's specifications, it was stated, appeared to be designed to eliminate the New Zealand producer by exempting overseas competitors from the payment pf exchange primage and sa(es tax. Mr. Coates, in reply, said- he; had forwarded the letter to the Rajlways Board, and added that the Government had no intention of departing from its policy of giving the . best possible consideration to local industries asHiii'cumstances would reasonable permit, and he d.id not draw any inference from thq facts enumerated in the letter that would lead him to think the board intended to depart from the line of action. Mr. F. Campbell, president of the federation, replied that the federation's fears were not allayed. There followed "a let'ter from the general manager of railways setting out that the board had continued the Government's general policy, and It was- felt that in actual practice ino real difficult-y would be encounter'ed in applying the policy to - the .Wellington station contract. . v •