SUPERVISION OF TRANSPORT

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21512, 29 June 1935, Page 14

SUPERVISION OF TRANSPORT

® A SINGLE AUTHORITY favoured DR. W. B. SUTCH'S CRITICISM (special to Tire PALMERSTON NORTH, June 28. "In spite of the existence of a Transport Co-ordination Board ard the system of licensing of goods a-~d passenger vehicles, transport in New Zealand, though an obvious example of the need for long range planning is not under the controlling supervision of any one statutory authority." remarked Dr. W. B. Suteh. of the staff of the Minister for Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) in an address on "Economic Planning" to the Palmerston North Economic Society this evening. The Railway Department, he said, quite properly ran the railways to ensure the maximum returns, irrespective of whether this policy might not at times be in the national interests. "The obvious answer to this situation is 'set up an authority that has control of all transport,'" continued Dr. Sutch. "But this would be merely the first step. Such an authority must have a poiicy ana an objective (it being accepted that planning without an objective is pernicious). We should then find that the developed planning ol our land, water and air transport services necessitates a harbour t olicy. "There is already a Local Government Loans Board which to some extent determines whether harbours and other local works shall or shall not proceed, but this uoard has not been expressly entrusted with the efficient development of capita] works as a national policy. It will therefore be clear that even the planning of transport involves giving wide powers. It will be for our democracy to decide whether this step should be taken, but if a decision is made against it, haphazard development with competitive overlapping and waste should be recognised as the alternative. "This decision is the key decision. It determines whether we are to have planning or no planning. In many sections of economic life there is inefficiency and wasteful competition. There is only one choice—between order and disorder."