30 PER CENT SAVED

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21374, 19 March 1941, Page 7

30 PER CENT SAVED

PETROL IN DOMINION RESULT OF RATIONING “ A saving of approximately 30 per cent has been achieved in petrol conumption as a result of rationing,” said the Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, in an interview today. He explained that the saving quoted applied to the last 12 months. The Government knew from week to week how much petrol was being consumed. It knew the number of vehicles registered and the pre-war average consumption per vehicle. From these figures it was possible to reach an approximation of what the consumption would have been had there been no rationing system. When asked the effect on petrol consumption of the impressment of motor-vehicles for army use. the Minister said he did not think New Zealand’s petrol requirements would be materially affected. The vehicles taken by the army would be using petrol on army work, but in any case when it was remembered that New Zealand had about 300,000 motorvehicles the relatively small number required for the army would have little material effect. It would also be remembered that work previously done by the vehicles impressed would still have__to_be done.