§ 65. Mr. MITCHESONasked the Secretary for Mines if he can furnish an estimate of the increased consumption of coal in this country which has resulted from the imposition of a duty on fuel oil?
§ The SECRETARY for MINES (Mr. Ernest Brown)Official information is not available. But a short time ago I received a deputation from the Coal Utilisation Council and other bodies, which furnished detailed information, collected by various trade organisations. This showed that, in terms of coal, there had been conversions from oil to coal and coal products, and business retained which it was stated would, but for the tax, have been lost to home produced fuels, representing an annual rate of consumption of over 600,000 tons.