Part 8

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9428. By Mr. PAYNTER: Are there any Asiatic eggs imported here? — I have not seen them for years. A lot of Adelaide eggs go to Kalgoorlie at certain times of the year. (The witness retired.)

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ARTHUR KEENE, Manager, Producers' Markets, Perth, sworn and examined: 9429. By the CHAIRMAN: What business do you carry on at the markets? - We sell fruit and garden produce.

9430. Are there many other firms established in the same business? — There are four others. We have our building apart from the others. Personally, we would prefer to be under the one roof. Our firm is purely a co-operative venture. The shareholders are entirely bona fide producers.

9431. Had the Government taken any steps to establish the central market there, all interested would be able to operate under the one roof. — We understand they have delegated that power to the City Council who are negotiating with us now. They have asked us to meet in conference and furnish the Council with our ideas of a central market. My ideas are that we should have a central market and that we should be housed under the one roof.

9432. Where do you think that central position should be? — In James-street. The City Council think they are going to get the consumer to go to the market, but they will never do that. You have only to go to the Eastern States to find out that the percentage of population attending the market is absolutely nothing. My idea of a market is that it should be from Roe-street to James-street, with a possible extension to Francis-street to continue right out to Charles-street. We could house everybody then, and it would suit everybody and the Railway Department as well. Eighty percent of the produce that comes to Perth is from the South-West and that has to cross the main line coming in from Bunbury. The Railway Department say that they will not bring in a train to the north side. They say that it is a mistake in railway engineering to cross the line. That is why they favour East Perth.

9433. What is the objection to Marquis-street? It is too low. It is recognised by a number of people who have lived in Perth for a number of years that the hottest part of Perth is that particular hollow in West Perth. It is not suitable for carrying perishable produce for even 24 hours, and moreover the site is not get-at-able.

9434. Have you any objection to East Perth? — East Perth has its advantages because it is near the river. One of our principal lines that we have to consider is the grape industry, and the Swan settlers are in favour of bringing their grapes along by river.

9435. Would not East Perth afford an opportunity of running a railway line straight into the markets? — I understand It would do so.

9436. Would not that be an immense advantage as compared with James-street? — With regard to James-street, my idea is that the Railway Department should run a siding in there. The Government previous to the Scaddan Government contemplated taking over the whole of that property, close it in, pull down the running sheds, and establish a meat market there. If the Government take the thing in hand and make it a marketing place, they can force everybody there, but it is questionable whether the municipality have the power to do that without an Act of Parliament. They attempted to do it with the fish market, but failed. Personally, I do not mind where the market is so long as it is an up-to-date structure. An absolute essential, before they erect the market, is proper refrigeration. We could have saved the growers thousands of pounds last year if we had had that.

9437.Do you know whether the scheme now being handed over to the municipality contemplates the erection of cold storage? — They were surprised when we told them that it was essential.

9438. Do you agree with me that the meat market should also be there? — I think all should be together.

9439. What proportion of your stuff comes in by road? — Eighty per cent of the vegetables and about 10 percent of the fruit. The other 90 per cent. of fruit which comes to Perth, comes from the districts between Armadale and Bridgetown. The Mt. Barker fruit goes to Kalgoorlie. the other 20 percent of the vegetables comes from between Armadale and Beenup. Only a small supply of vegetables comes from along the Midland and Chidlows Line.

9440. Are you in favour of a continuance of the auction system as applied to fruit and vegetables? — Absolutely.

9441. Have you taken the opportunity of going East and observing the system of open markets? — They conduct open markets there because they are not as advanced as we are here. In Western Australia we are ahead of the Eastern States. We put up a better article in the way of fruit. They have found it necessary in Victoria, for instance, to make it an offence for a man not to pack his fruit. Here we have a standard pack. Co-operation is also more advanced in Western Australia than anywhere else so far as fruit is concerned.

9442. Do you not think, from the point of view of the distributor, that it is a costly matter to have to attend the market to get a spring cart load of stuff to take into the suburbs? — My chief concern is the man who pays me my commission, and that is the grower. We charge a lower rate of commission than any other State of the Commonwealth. We only charge 1s. in the £ and take all risk. Our charges really are 5 percent for selling fruit, 71/2 percent for selling broken lines of vegetables, and 5 percent for selling bulk lines, and we take the whole risk. We provide the men to unload and catalogue the stuff and label it. All the grower has to do is to sit in his cart and hand it out. Then we give him a receipt and on the production of that next morning, he gets hard cash.

9443. Would you not be better off if you received a truck of vegetables from say, Armadale, and unloaded them on the floor and sold them perhaps in one lot to one buyer, rather than follow the present system of selling by auction, which might take half an hour? — We are not so much concerned about our own labours as to getting a fare value for the man in the country. Directly you introduce open markets, you will introduce a market that is purely for the benefit of the suburban grower. When you get open markets, you have to put the country grower on the same footing as the other. You must have good transit for you goods. Undoubtedly, the vegetables grown in the country are better in quality than those grown