SETTLERS IN BACKBLOCKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 71, Issue 6, 18 October 1950, Page 3

SETTLERS IN BACKBLOCKS

MINISTER SHOWS SYMPATHY PROMISE TO SUPPORT CASE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 17, Before the Government spend much more money on widening one-way bridges it would have to rebuild the bridges that were falling down, said the Minister of Works (the Hon. W. S. Goosman) in the House of Representatives to-night when the classes of Estimates under his control were under discussion.

Mr Goosman said he realised the position of people in the backblocks, and was sympathetic toward their roading problems. “Those are the people who, if they haven’t a road, should get one," he said. “There are two or three more people involved in getting roads, but I will be pulling for those in the backblocks.”

He said he had' asked the Department to let all the work that it could on a contract basis. One trouble was, however, that there were not the number of contractors in the country to do all the work that was offering. Mr E. B. K. Gordon (Govt., Rangitikei), appealed to the Minister to give more generous treatment to the larger counties in the matter of subsidies for road works. The maximum counties received was £2500, irrespective of whether they were large or small. Mr Gordon said that Rangitikei County recently had before it a suggestion that it divide into three so that it could receive more by way of subsidy to meet the roading problem that confronted it.

“I am in full agreement with all that has been said,” Mr Goosman remarked.

He said that the Ministry of Works and the Treasury Department were investigating the present position, which was “foolish and had existed for a long time.” Mr Gordon: Try them out with a £ for £ subsidy. Mr Goosman: If we do that there will be no need for counties. I can produce figures to support that.

Straightening Of Highways

Mr S. W. Smith (Govt., Hobson) asked the Minister what his policy was in regard to the straightening of main highways. The general feeling was that the country did not need speedways. The Hon. R. Semple (Oppn., Miramar) said he would offer no apology for the highways constructed by the Labour Government. They had been constructed with vision to meet the needs of the people and they were built on the Roman system of roadways that would last. Mr Goosman said that many bad roads ought to be made better before good roads were made better. He was certain thhf a great deal of money had been spent on the straightening of roads when other needs had been more pressing. The country could not have every road a good one. Many roads could .be sealed for the money that it took to build some classes of highways.