WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 8

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

POINTS FROM THE PRESS. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. A few weeks' experience of administrative responsibility has evidently brought home to the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, the need for an improvement in the local government system of the Dominion. . . . To suggest that the time for reform is overdue is not to cast any reflection upon [the public spirit of those who for sixty years have undertaken the often thankless task of guiding local government. . . . As Mr. Parry said, the advent of modern transport has -eliminated many of the old divisions between local settlements, until to-day "communities that were' isolated units a few years ago are now separated only by lines drawn on a map." The Minister's suggestion that local authorities combine with the Government in evolving an improved local government system is worthy of full consideration. It will not be easy to bring about, especially in those cases where extinction of certain local authorities must follow any successful reorganisation of the present system. Nevertheless, such co-operation seems to contain more hope of being acceptable than if a cut-and-dried local government system—prepared mostly by bureaucratic officials—were submitted by the Government for the approval of Parliament and the community.—"Taranaki Daily News."

POWER DISTRIBUTION. The State monopoly of water power development inaugurated by Sir Joseph Ward in 1910 lias worked fairly satisfactorily in New Zealand, apart from its failure, up till a year or two ago, to keep pace with the demand. In a field like this, there is not the danger of incflieiency and lack of initiative that develop too readily in some Government Departments. liu{ there has been some anxiety about the threatened use of power distribution for political purposes, in the form of a flat rate by which the country man would be carried to some extent by the townsman, as i 3 already done with the telephone system. It is this anxiety to which the Minister of Public Works refers when lie says there are quarrels with power boards, counties and cities and serious quarrels at that. The State has spent £10,500,000 in capital outlay on power sources, but the power boards have spent £14,000,000 on plant and reticulation. These boards have rating power over combined districts and the incidence of the rate and the cost of power have provided local grievances that are not always well founded. The Government has an unpleasant job on its hands to deal with this problem, and it would be well advised to avoid the political issue and adhere to business principles in its dealing with every reticulating authority.—"Christchurch StarSun."

LOCAL BODIES AND RELIEF WORK. At a meeting of tho Manawatu Drainage Board held last week, advice was received from the Unemployment Board that the men previously engaged on the Drainage Board's works had been placed on sustenance. The advice was a circular one and had gone to all local bodies in the district. During the discussion at the meeting tho statement was made that the board had now but one man, besides the overseer, in its employment. Here is a local body, with scores of miles of drains to maintain, and but one employee who was not listed as unemployed. It would truly appear that unemployment has been maintained at a higher figure than it should have lately, recorded, owing to'the assistance given to local bodies. It would not be fair entirely to blame local bodies for this; they were asked to place as many men as possible. The Unemployment Board, for its part, had the task of finding work for every man it could place, no matter where. Be that so, it is now time that work should be carried wit in normal fashion. It would be infinitely better for the country's future, immediate as well as distant, that a local body should provide proper and full employment for ten men, than that twenty should be employed upon the relief basis.— "Manawatu Daily Times."

THE BUSINESS OF AVIATION. Iti Jiis survey of aviation in New Zealand at Palmerston North, o.i the occasiou of the inauguration of the main trunk service of Union Airways, the Minister of Defence and Postmaster-General, the Hon. F. Jones, covered a good deal of ground. . . . The Minister enumerated the different Departments of the Public Service which have to do with different, but none the less essential, matters in aviation. Thus one issues certificates of airworthiness of aeroplanes and examines and licenses pilots, another grants licenses to operate air services, a third deals with landing grounds and aerodromes, a fourth with meteorological services, and a fifth with wireless installations. No doubt a closer search might find other fingers in the pie, but it is quite clear already that this dissipation of responsibility does not make for efficiency in a service where efficiency is everything. The Minister pleaded the occupation of Cabinet with more important questions as a reason for not making an announcement of policy, but there is a great deal at stake in the conduct of the different branches of aviation and it is to be hoped that there will be no undue delay. On the face of the evidence already available there is a good case for the formation of an Air Ministry to correlate and co-ordinate the whole business of aviation. This is more a matter of the organisation of existing services under one head than the creation of new ones, and should prove neither difficult nor expensive.—Wellington "Evening Post." .

TRANSPORT C.O-ORDINATION BOARD. In a speech in Westport, Mr. Semple included the Transport Co-ordination Board, "which has done little but draw salaries," in the list of institutions which the present Government intends to abolish. If would bo interesting to know what the Government proposes to put in its place. The Transport Coordination Board has two sets of functions. It is a final court of appeal from the decisions of local transport licensing authorities; and it is also charged with the task of investigating transport problems and recommending to the Government measures for securing "the improvement, co-ordination and development of all - forms of transport." As an appeal authority the board is useful and necessary. >■; . . The ideal tribunal for transport cases is one which ■ gives the parties a fair and public hearing, is capable of resisting the inevitable official bias in favour of. Stateowned transport undertakings, and has an experjt knowledge of the transport requirements of the country. The present Transport Co-ordiriation Board is at least an approximation to this ideal. It is in, the performance of its second set of functions that it is unsatisfactory'./ There; is a Transport.' Department with a, Director of Transport at its head which ought to be capable of carrying out the necessary research and advising the Government. To vest these functions in a board is merely to introduce an unnecessary complication. Last \ year the Transport Co-ordination Board and the Director of Transport produced separate j annual reports which gave clear evidence of confusion and overlapping. The sensible way ' out of the difficulty is to combine the offices of Director of Transport and chairman of the Transport Co-ordination Board.—Christcliurch "Press."