ARAPUNI.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19972, 5 July 1930, Page 17

ARAPUNI.

CAUSE OF THE SHOT-DOWN. MR 8. SEMPLE'S ALLEGATIONS. (pRKBS ASSOCIATION MLTORMC.) WELLINGTON, June 4. Alleging that the Arapuni scheme had been initiated in spite of expert advice that the situation was bristling with difficulties, and that the area was "a volcanic rubbish heap," Mr R. Semple (Lab., Wellington Bast) asked to-day. in the course of the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives, why the . Public Works officials who were responsible for "this blunder,'' which had cost £2,600,000 of public money, had not been suspended. Why were they still being left in charge of the operations? Mr Semple described the request ot the Right Hon. J. G. Coates for a public enquiry as "a, bit of cheap camouflage." He produced samples of various strata of rock at Ar&puni, and declared that the power-house was built on nothing but compressed brown pumioe sand. If the earth in the vicinity had been properly tested by means of a diamond drill it would be a simple matter for Mr Coates to produce samples of solid rock strataThe Government of the day should have called for such samples before expending a vast sum of public money. Mr Semple remarked that he had no fault to find with the site of Arapuni, which was ideal, but it was the foundations of the scheme with which ho was concerned. Unless samples of •solid rock strata could be produced from the site, he declared, with a full sense of responsibility, that there was no chance of saving the scheme. He asked whether it was the work of well-informed engineers that the transformer station had been built on the top of country that had been honeycombed with penstock tunnels and shaken by gelignite. He attributed the recent cracks to the pulsation of the water in honeycombed strata of the nature which ho had produced. It was nonsense to suggest that an earthquake had been responsible. After alleging that the Public Works Engineer had been guilty of a "criminal blunder," Mr Semple urged that not another sixpence should be expended on Arapuni until a complete investigation of the scheme had been njade by competent experts. m , Mr W. J. Broadfoot (u., Waitomo) said the world should be searched for an expert who had had experience ot handling similar projects in a country of difficult nature. For instance, » wonderful scheme had Ijeen constructed on sand in Sind (India). Mr J. A. Young (R.. Hamilton) said he rather suspected that the question of ooal electricity as opposed to hydroelectricity had been at the back of the minds of Labour members criticising the scheme. He had no fault to find with their point of view in seeking work for the miners. He _ added that while there had been criticisms ot Arapuni prior to the construction of the scheme, no one had predicted what had actually happened. The question of earthquakes had been raised, but the assurance of experts had been obtained that Arapuni was outside the earthquake area. At the time the seheme had been initiated the Ri"l"t Hon. W. F. Massey had menti tied in conversation with Mr Young that he was uneasy about Arapuni, but that the weight of expert evidence was m favour of the proposal. Mr Young asserted that it was not vet time to attack the Public instead, everyone should assist him to investigate the position and trv to discover a remedy. It was gratifying that the Government was taking such a course. (