A FREE PORT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 3, 25 March 1927, Page 5

A FREE PORT

THE POLICY OF WELLINGTON REDUCTION IN CHARGES (From Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, To-day. It is the expressed intention of the chairman of the Welilngton Harbour Board. Mr. M. ohen, to direct the future policy toward making this as free a port as possible. With this end in view he announced that the board had found it possible to make a further reduction in charges amounting to £12,000 per annum. “The board,” he said, “has considered the incidence* of reduction with very great and painstaking care, and the decision has been made that the sum mentioned shall be fairly apportioned to every contributing element and avenue of revenue production, those elements being the producers, shippers, and shipping. Details of the proposed reductions are:—22l per cent, off export wharfage on wool from the shore. 25 per cent, off export wharfage on hemp and tow from the shore, 16 2-3 per cent, off export wharfage on butter, cheese, tallow, pelts and hides from the shore, 25 per cent, off export wharfage on frozen meat, butter cheese, tallow, pelts and hides from the rail, 7§ per cent, off pressing wool and flg.x, 20 per cent, off the harbour improvement rate on imports.” Mr. Cohen added that the reductions were made even in face of the probability that the revenue of the board may decrease during such adjustment as may be found necessary to restrict the imports to within a reasonable measure of value of the value of exports of this Dominion.