Spending Plans This Year

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22496, 2 September 1938, Page 15

Spending Plans This Year

“FAR-SIGHTED POLICY”

Minister’s Statement to House

j [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, September 1. “I make no apology for the amount of money I am asking parliament to provide; and every penny will be spent within a well-planned and far-sighted policy,” said the Minister for * Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) in the Public Works Statement tabled in the House of Representatives this afternoon. This year, the Minister explained, it was proposed to spend £12,757,200 in public works under his control. Of this-amount, £4,784,000 would be spent from revenue, this being about 38 per cent, of the total. .

“Much criticism has been levelled at the Government because its proposals for this year’s expenditure are on a large scale in comparison with those of former years,” he said. “This may be so, but I wish to say definitely that the money will be expended onl. on well-planned proposals. In projecting public works it is futile to plan without giving consideration to the future needs of the country. 1 feel that we have now arrived at

a time when we can better foresee our needs and provide for them. A country that stands still will go back. Science, engineering skill and ingenuity, and increasing human needs compel us to advance.

■ •‘Engineering skill has so improved our motor vehicles that we must rebuild our roads to higher standards not only to make human life safe but alio to provide rapid, ample, and safe roads for the development of industries and businesses dependent upon road transport facilities; improvement in electric equipment and facilities for its use are advancing so rapidly that we are hardly keeping pace with the generation of power to meet the demand; public buildings to house our public servants are woefully inadequate and out. of date; we have isolated railway systems that would not be tolerated in other countries, and we have land that can produce immeasurably more than it produces to-day. Surely it cannot be, called extravagance to endeavour to build to keep pace *ith these necessaiy things?”

Details of Votes

Votes for different phases of the department’s operations were shown as follows: „

Departmental .. 220,000 Railway construction .. 1.440,000 Public buildings .. 1,540,000 Lighthouses- and harbour ' works .. ou.uuu Development of tourist _ , resorts .. • • „ _“X>xxJ' Roads ■.. .. 1,500,000 • . Lands improvement .. 300.000 Irrigation Electric, supply 1.556.000 Mam highways .. 5.037,200 Consolidated Fund . - 839,000

For the current financial year

£068,972 would be provided from the S olidated Fund for expenditure on tenance of public works and serThe expenditure on main highfrom revenue was estimated to . £2,077,000,' ahtf from loan naoneys °> d *2,6b3,000. while one-third of the cost ~of the -level-crossing elimination programme would be met fro lll j® employment Promotion Fund an“ on ®T sixth by the Railways Department. It was estimated that approximately £437,000 revenue from the electric supply account would be available after providing for sinking fund, interest, and operating expenses for expenditure on construction works, ine balance of the year’s constimction programme under this heading—£742,ooo --would be raised by loans. The proposed expenditure from loan moneys and revenue for votes comprised in the Public Works Fhnd coming under the control of other Ministers of the Crown was:— Railway improvements and additions to open lines, . £3,746,000; education buildings. , £820,000; telegraph extension, £750,000; swamp-land drainage, £20,500; settlement of unemployed workers, £595,000; native land settlement, £930000* These, amounts, with' those shown in the summary of votes under the control of the Minister for Public Works, amounted to £19,644,700.