ROADS BOARD ALLOCATIONS

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28362, 22 August 1957, Page 11

ROADS BOARD ALLOCATIONS

Answer On Otago District Cuts •New 4eatuna Hssoaatiuhi DUNKDIN, August 21. The National Roads Board had not reached the stage where it could say positively whether its income was sufficient for its functions, said the deputy-chairman, Mr W. F. Young, to members of the Number 16 and Number 17 District Roads Councils. The councils bad expressed concern, at the degree, by which their allocations had been cut. If the board was Satisfied that the limit of its revenue had been reached, and it still needed more, the road users would be asked for more, but that point must be reached first, he said. Opening the discussion, the chairman of the two councils said that the board had been invited to meet them because members felt that the reduction in allocations for reading this year fell more heavily in the Otago area, than elsewhere. The reduction over the country was 11.45 per cent., but in the Number 17 district it rose to 29 per cent, he said. Existing roads had to be maintained so the entire reduction was at the expense of new construction. The result was that the funds for new work in the district were cut by 46 per cent. “User Would Pay More” The board’s funds did not appear to be sufficient for the reading and bridging work that needed to be done, said Mr W: B. Scoular Vincent. It was fair and reasonable that the user should pay, and if there were not sufficient funds Id or 2d more should be added to the tax on petrol. The board could not expect to expand the reading facilities of the country on its funds. If it were necessary, road users would not object to the raising of the petrol tax by a small amount. Mr Young said that the “cuts” merely amounted to an effort on the part of the board to reduce expenditure to the same terms as its revenue.

In the five years before the formation of the National Roads Board £1,333,000 was spent in the Number 16 district. This compared with £1,125,000 spent in the district last year alone. The allocation this year was based on an average of the amounts spent over the last three years, so it could not be said that the district was suffering unduly, said Mr Young.