YEAR'S PLANS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 206, 1 September 1938, Page 12

YEAR'S PLANS.

COST £19,644,000. HIGHWAYS BUILDING. AERODROME DEVELOPMENT. OUTLINE BY THE MINISTER. (By Telcgrnph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Plane for the spending of £10.044,700 on public works in New Zealand during the current financial year, and the Government's j>olicy of developing the Dominion, wore dealt with by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, when presenting his annual statement to the House of Kepresentatives this afternoon. Main highways, hydro-electric development, new railways, public buildings, aerodromes, irrigation and water supply schemes, land improvement activities and the restoration of flood areas were among the works outlined by the Minister. Moet important in total ex-' penditure were highways, which accounted for 40 per cent of the total estimated outlay of the Department this year. Mr. Semple stated that in the Budget an additional £1,075,000 had been shown under the heading of Public Works for' expenditure on State forests, lands for settlement and State coal mines.

"The number of works of a necessary character which the ever-increasing development of the country demands hae become eo great that the number of men on public works Jiae had to be increased during the year by upwards of 2000," said the Minister. The woFkrf undertaken were to a great extent indirectly, and in most caeee directly, remunerative or reproductive. The ability and experience of the officers of the Department, and the energy i) n<l willingness of its employees, had resulted in full value being obtained for every pound expended. Aβ far as possible all men were placed on co-opera-tive contract at prices which necessitated a good day'* work for a good day'* pay, and no better incentive could 'be given to encourage a reasonable output. Mechanical Equipment. "The eatiefactory progress made on all workj» undertaken throughout the year has shown that it is quite possible to employ a large body of men in conjunction with a comparatively large amount of machinery," lie continued. It must be freely admitted, however, that in the clasHcp of work likely to be undertaken in* the future machinery in net play an ever-increasing part if such work* are to prpye. .reaeonably..productive or remnnereti.ve... ;

"Where it has. been desirable and possible -to- .entirely employ machinery the saving, in. .the cost of works has been remarJca l ble,.aikL I would instance irrigation and aerodrome construction work in this respect. On the latter the work required is. of. such a nature v that manual labour is quite.prohibitive in cost, while the former, in many cases, cannot be undertaken at a cost that would enable settlers to pay a price for irrigation water commensurate with a reasonable return to the Government."

The Minister paid a tribute to the good relationship which existed between the officers of the Department and the New Zealand Workers' Union, which, he said, contributed to a desire for sound and efficient work on both sides. Enormous damage had been caused during tne year by unprecedented floods, said Mr/*,'9emple, particularly in the Napier end Gis'borne districts. In addition to the destruction of roads, sections of railway and bridges, large areas of fertile country had completely disappeared. River Control Weeded. "I would impress upon all local bodies the necessity of not depending on the Government when there ie a reasonable and justifiable demand upon their own resources," he continued. "If they do this, then the Government will be in a better position to help those who have suffered damage far beyond their power to restore."

Serious thought had been given to systematic control of river* which were, or' were like!y to be, dangerous in time of flood. The matter was of vital im- i portance. Only want of suitable staff, i due to the large amount of work already in hand by the Department, had prevented greater progress. On the works now in hand there wae still a shortage of engineering staff, and after exhaustive inquiries, both in New Zealand and Australia, the Department had been unable- to obtain the services of 'more engineers. Therefore, much ae he would like to have eet up a special branch of the Department to undertake investigations and make surveys for river control, he had eo far been unable to do so. However, he hoped to do more at an early date. Much criticism had been levelled at the Government because its proposals for this year's expenditure were on a large scale in comparison with those of former yearn, stated Mr. Semple, but he snid definitely that the money would be expended only on well-planned propoeale. In projecting public works it wae futile to plan without giving consideration to the future needs of the country. Xew Zealand hud now arrived at atimp when it was possible to fovfc'c uur ik'cu* in I provide for them.