"SHOCKINGL WASTE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 166, 16 July 1931, Page 11

"SHOCKINGL WASTE."

AUCKLAND STATION.

ME. G. C. MUNNS CRITICAL

LOSS OF RACE TRAFFIC,

(By Telegraph.—'Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, this day,

The expenditure on Auckland's ornate railway station came in for some vigorous criticism at the hands of the Chief Government Whip, Mr. G. C. Munns (Roskill), in the House yesterday during the Address-in-Reply debate.

Mr. Munns, in countering Opposi~~l tion attacks on the Government, had referred to some of the legacies the previous Administration had left the United party on assuming office, to show the difficult time the Government had been through. After mentioning the ori--1 ginal deficit, the Mr. G. C. Munns. State Advances arrears, the position of the superannuation funds, the Arapuni break-down, Mr. _ Munns came to the railways, and, incidentally, the Auckland station. "One has only to look at the Auckland railway station," he said. "A magnificent building for any country in the world!"

A Reform Member: Are you not proud of it? .

Mr. Munns: No, I am not proud of it. When I stand in the vestibule of. the station I see no fewer than eleven electric . clocks. Then there are bronze doors and inlaid floors. It seems to have been a shocking waste of money. "The Postmaster-General does not think so," interposed the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Munns: I do not care what tho Postmaster-General thinks. I am giving my own, honest opinion. When I see the station, it makes me wonder what vision was in front of those responsible for the expenditure. Admittedly, the old station was not suitable from the point of view of egress and access, and the Westfield deviation was a magnilicent thing and made our railway, but the terrific expenditure on that building seems to have been utterly unwarranted. Mr. Munns declared that the location of the new station had meant an immense loss of revenue. On ordinary race days in Auckland between £200 and £300 used to be taken in fares, but now the revenue on race days was between £17 and £19. A Reform Member: Why did you increase, the fares? Mr. Munns replied that the trouble was that the people were not going to the new station. They were using other means of transport.

Mr. R. A. Wright (Reform, Wellington Suburbs), gave credit to the member for Roskill for courage. It was tlw first time he had heard any Auckland member object to expenditure in his own district. He should tell Auckland people what he had said in Parliament. Mr. Munns: I have told them. "I believe the station is a very luxurious affair," added Mr. Wright, "but when the Auckland people demanded a new station nobody knew the state of affairs which would prevail to-day, otherwise such an elaborate station would not have been provided."