H—44

Licensing

The hand-shovel-making industry was declared a licensed industry by a notice undersection 14 of the Act gazetted on 21st February, 1946. It was decided during the year that the time was propitious to dispense with the control of the fishing and related industries under the provisions of the Industrial Efficiency Act. Notices removing the licensing provisions from the retailing, wholesaling, and export of fish were accordingly gazetted on 2nd August, 1945. The licensing of fishermen and oyster-dredgers was taken over by the Marine Department pursuant to the Fisheries Amendment Act, 1945, passed on 24th November, 1945. The thirty-two licensed industries as at 31st March, 1946, were as follows : manufacture of agar ; manufacture of apple-juice ; manufacture of asbestos-cement products ; manufacture of dry-cell batteries ; manufacture of bituminous roofing ; manufacture of' cement; manufacture of cigarette-papers ; manufacture of colloidal sulphur ; dehydration of plants for medicinal purposes ; extraction from fish livers of nutritional or medicinal oil; fish-canning ; flax-milling (Phorium tenax) ; manufacture of footwear ; fruit and vegetable canning ; manufacture of gut ; manufacture of hand-shovels ; manufacture of linseed-oil and linseed-oil cake ; manufacture of macaroni; manufacture of malt extract; manufacture of nails ; manufacture of paper pulp and paper products ; sale by wholesale of petrol; retail sale and distribution of petrol; manufacture of petrolpumps ; pharmacy industry ; manufacture of radio receiving-sets ; manufacture of electric ranges ; manufacture of rennet; manufacture of rope and twine ; manufacture of salt; manufacture of tires and tubes, rubber ; and the manufacture of wooden heels. Although outside the period covered by the report, it should also be mentioned that the manufacture of cement was delicensed by notice gazetted by the Minister on 11th April, 1946. At the request of the Minister, the Bureau gave consideration during the year to proposals to license the following industries, the position in respect of each being indicated : Non-ferrous products .. .. .. .. Under consideration. Manufacture of televisors .. .. .. „ Manufacture of paua-shell ornaments and jewellery.. „ Manufacture of barbed wire .. .. .. Deferred twelve months-Bottom-stock cutting .. .. .. .. Declined. Industrial Plan Committees There are five Industrial Plan Committees established under Part 111 of the Act to assist with the administration of industries. The position of each of these is briefly Summarized as follows : Footwear. —The Footwear Plan Industrial Committee has held eleven meetings during; the year, and, besides making recommendations to the Bureau with respect to applications for new licenses or variations of licenses, has discussed and taken appropriate action or recommended certain courses to the Bureau or the Government with regard to various general matters concerning the industry. These included such matters as wages,. Branding Regulations, children's footwear survey, civilian footwear allocations, supplies toNetherlands East Indies, footwear shortages, wages subsidies for rehabilitated servicemen,, reports from the Leather and Shoe Research Association, production of nurses' shoes,, licensing of bottom-stock cutters, standard specifications for flexible welted and single veldtchoen footwear, shortages of upper leathers, manufacture and test of shoe-drier for use with conveyor systems, footwear for Polish children, prices of footwear, subsidies, for training returned servicemen, and shortages of female labour.

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