REPAIRING FLOOD DAMAGE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21716, 25 February 1936, Page 12

REPAIRING FLOOD DAMAGE

; ROADS TO RACKBLOCKS FIRST ; MINISTER’S ANNOUNCEMENT ■.l-KSS.-i ASSOCXATIOS TELEGJSAii.I ELTHAM. February 24. I “Tar-sealed roads and the like ; have to take second place until the! I wants of the men in the backblocks | ! have been attended to.” said the | j Minister for Public Works (the! I Hon. R. Semple) during his reply j ito several deputations from local; \ bodies at Eltham to-day. “Of prim- i j ary consideration,” he added, “are j I the crying needs of the back coun- 1 | try settlers, many of v/hom have to; | lake a chance and swim rivers to; (reach civilisation.” I The Minister added that the Gov-' I ernment’s generous offers of assist- j ! ance to stricken areas could not be \ j taken as a precedent to be applied ! !to normal times and normal re- * I quirement. He emphasised particu-, , larly that State assistance was only : j to meet extraordinary flood damage j ! where settlers had lost communica- j tion with their markets and the i outside world. New .Zealand would have to re- j distribute its population from the I cities to the country, but before 1 this could be done the Government must give reasonable access to those settlers who had been sent out to the back country, and who were in many cases virtually isolated. This would give encouragement to others to go on the land. The Minister had a very busy j morning receiving deputations, and; in the afternoon left for Hawera. j i: