RIVER CONTROL IN DOMINION

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

RIVER CONTROL IN DOMINION

Work Held up By

Lack of Staff

I MINISTERS STATEMENT

[From Our Parliamentary Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, September 1

The difficulty of establishing a special branch of the Public Works Department to make surveys for river control in New Zealand was referred to by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple), when he tabled the annual report of his department in the House of Representatives this afternoon. After commenting on the amount of damage by floods in the last year, the Minister said that serious thought had been given to systematic control of rivers that were, or were likely to be, dangerous. The matter was one of vital importance to this., country. It had- only been for want of suitable staff, due to the large amount of work already in hand by the department, that progress - had not been made to the extent he would have likedJjfo see. - - : . - •- * --«««•.>.

“On the works now in hand there is still a shortage of engineering staff," the Minister added, “and after exhaustive inquiries, both • in ■ New Zealand and Australia, the department has been quite unable to obtain the services of more engineers. I find, therefore, much as I would like to have set up a special branch of the department to undertake investigations and make surveys for river control, I have so far been unable to do so. - “The matter is one, however, that. I shall continue to press, and I am : u hopes of doing more at an early date. The first procedure will be to collect data and make surveys for protective works in their order of urgency. Some work was lone this year by utilising the services of one of the department s engineers wl j has had considerable experience in river-control work, -le will be retained on this work.