POLITICAL NOTES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21246, 18 August 1934, Page 14

POLITICAL NOTES

—#— [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, August 17. A Request Refused A request that steps should be taken to complete the Heaphy track, with a view to providing a road route encircling the whole of the northern part of the South Island, was refused by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. J. Bitjchener), replying to an urgent | question by Mr K. J. Holyoake (C, Motueka), in the House of Reprejsentatives this morning. After ask- ! ing the Minister to consider establishing a camp or camps at either the Karamea or the Collingwood end of the Heaphy track, Mr Holyoake explained that the gap was a comparatively short one, and that | the nature of the country presented practically no difficulties to engineering. If such a road were constructed, it would provide not only aii alternative route to the north for the West Coast province, but would open up some land for settlement, and also make available as a scenic attraction a considerable extent of typical West Coast scenery, including" perhaps the most beautiful nikau palm forest in New Zealand. The Hon. J. Bitchener said the work referred to was one of considerable magnitude. The estimated cost of undertaking it by means of relief work for married men was about £46,000. It had not been possible to provide any money for this purpose on the Public Works road estimates this year. nor was it possible to give favourable consideration to Mr Holyoake's request that a camp should be established at either end. Superannuation Fund i A total of 17,369 public servants were contributing to the superannuation fund on March 31 last, according to the annual report of the Superannuation Board, laid on the table of the House of Representatives to-day. These servants represented annual salary payments of £4,238,416, and annual contributions to the fund of £227,014. The j number of male contributors had j increased by 169, and the female i contributors had decreased by 19. i A comparative table in the report j shows the growth of the superant nuation system since its inception. In 1908 £79.831 was contributed to the fund. By 1931 this had risen J to £270,316, and for the year ended i March 31 last the contributions i totalled £227,015. The accumulated j fund now stands at £2,899,564. I | Tomato Pulp Imports j An assurance that the duty on j Australian tomato pulp would not ) be lifted as a concession to manuI facturers of soups and sauce, given ' recently to a deputation of tomato j growers by the Minister for Agri-1 ! culture (the Hon. C. E. Macrailian)' is confirmed in a statement made! jto Mrs E. R. McCombs (Lab., Lytjtelton). by the Minister to-day. Mr I j Macmillan said that in accordance I [with the promise made to a depuj tation. representations then made! j were conveyed to the Minister for; I Customs (the Rt. Hon. J. G. : jCoates), who had now replied as', 'follows: "The request for the re-i ! mission of duty was not made by; | Messrs S. Kirkpatrick and Company, t Ltd., but by Messrs Brown, Barrett land Company, Ltd. Auckland. En- | quiries were made with all the large sauce manufacturers in New Zea- \ land, and it was ascertained that '. with the exception of Brown, Bar- [ rett and Company, the manufac- | turers had sufficient stocks of puip | | on hand to fulfil their requirements ; until next season's crop of tomatoes is available. In the circumstances. jit was decided on July 27 that the I desired concession could not be j granted, and the applicants were advised to that effect." j Building Scheme ■ A decision of the Unemployment! , Board to provide from its funds : a subsidy equal to 12 per cent, of i the capital cost involved in imI • provernents under municipal buildings programmes was announced in the House of Representatives to-day by the acting-Minister for Employ--1 mer:t ithe Hon. J. A. Young). The Minister said that in furtherance of the proposals mentioned by the Minister for Employment (the Hon. A. Hamilton) in announcing recently details of the Unemployment Board's new house building scheme the Unemployment Board had been giving consideration to what would ibe a reasonable measure of assis- ! tance to offer local bodies, with the j object of facilitating their entering | I municipal house-building proj grammes on a comprehensive scale. j The board had now decided that. i subject to conditions, the details of ! which had yet to be made final, it ! would provide from its funds a •subsidy equal to 12 per cent, of the : capital cost involved in improve- • merits under such building programme. The proposed subsidy would not cover expenditure incurred by local authorities in the acquisition of land.