PROPOSED WORKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 285, 1 December 1932, Page 7

PROPOSED WORKS.

MUNICIPAL OFFICE. QUEEN STREET EXTENSION. TWO NEW RESERVOIRS. The works committee' recommended that the following works be approved:— £ DRAINAGE. — Construction of stormwater sewer to afford relief to main business area of city 44,000 WATERWORKS EXTENSIONS. — Service reservoir at Mount Hobson ■ • 27.00U Service reservoir at Khj-ber Pass 32,000 STREET EXTENSIONS AND TRAFFIC RELIEF. —Extension of Upper Queen Street to New North Road 12,500 BUILDING EXTENSIONS AND ADDITIONS.—New Municipal ' Office block 4^,000 Total £160,500 The works committee stated that the council had a responsibility as to how far and how long the present expenditure on unemployment from revenue was to be carried on. With a view to framing the estimates for next year, the Unemployment Board should be asked to declare an approximate estimate of what was required from the council for the period. When the estimates were framed and adopted for i 1932-33, the figures were based on the employment of 800 men, and provision was made for the expenditure of £7000. There were at present 1500 men engaged on relief works, and the expenditure in materials, plant and supervision would absorb approximately £11,000 this year. Recurrence Undesirable. "The time has arrived," said the committee, "when the present policy of expenditure and work performed ehould be subject to review. The works now in progress, together with additional street formation, will employ in 193334 the same number of men now employed at an approximate cost of £11,000 per annum. The council must see that there is not a recurrence of' what has happened this financial year, and to ensure this the Unemployment Board ehould be asked to state the position and give some idea, of its requirements ahead. This recommendation is made on the supposition that there is to be no alteration in the board's policy relating to the scheme of relieving unemployment. National Scheme. "The whole national scheme should be subject to review. It must be conceded that, while much of the work carried out -will ultimately be of great value to the city of Auckland, it is merely a palliative, and provides no remedy for unemployment, and, furthermore, it is unthinkable that the council should go on epending eucli a large sum year after year as is now being done. The ordinary relief job is made and carried out, •with, one objective, that is, that the work shall absorb as little material as possible, but euch work has a limit eventually. It is fairly obvious, also, that the present method of expenditure must ultimately have an adverse effect upon the men so engaged. The experience of the foreman and gangers engaged in supervision of the men on relief work and general observation goes to show that a very high, percentage of the men are accepting the work and carrying it out in a highly commendable epirit; at the same time there is a not unnatural absence of that spirit among the men that would be engendered by more constructive work. Council's Lead. "The committee is of opinion that the time has now come for the Auckland City Council to give a lead in this matter, and the city engineer was requested to eubmit a schedule of prospective works that might be classified as essential. The works embrace a wide range, covering drainage, reclamations, waterworks extensions, street extensions and buildings. Apart from the question of whether much of the work may be said to be premature, the time has arrived when the council should endeavour to carry out worke as ordinary work and not as relief work. By such means the allied trades would receive impetus, thus relieving a strain on the unemployment funds." The committee recommended that the works enumerated be approved and that the Mayor be requested to negotiate with the Unemployment Board for the purpose of ascertaining what assistance it was prepared to give towards carrying out the works, and that application be made to the Local Government Loans Board for sanction to raise whatever balance was required to complete the works. Seven Months' Expenditure. In a report by Mr. A. Messer, city treasurer, it was set out that wages for relief workers on Xo. 5 scheme from April last to October 31 amounted to £54,058. In carrying out the work £6770 had been spent in other directions, making the total payment for the period £60,834.