Ministers Answer Questions On Road Tunnel Loan

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29058, 21 November 1959, Page 18

Ministers Answer Questions On Road Tunnel Loan

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, November 19.

The deferment by the Local Authorities Loans Board of an application for a loan by the Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority was the subject of a number of questions asked in Parliament in the closing weeks of the session.

Five order papers released today, and containing the Ministerial answers to 120 formal questions asked in the House, contained this information on the road tunnel:

To a question asked by Mr N. E. Kirk (Government, Lyttelton) on behalf of himself and Mr M. A. Connelly (Government, Riccarton), the Minister of Works (Mr Watt) said: “The Local Authorities Loans Board is a completely independent body comprising four members with wide local body experience, together with representatives from the Treasury, the Ministry of Works, and the Department of Internal Affairs. Their decisions are made on the basis of the urgency, importance and relative priority of the work with a full knowledge, both of the financial capacity of the local authority concerned and the overall loan finance likely to be available.”

Messrs Kirk and Connelly had asked Mr Watt whether he would support Canterbury members in their endeavours to secure a revision of the attitude of the board.

Later Mr N. G. Pickering (Government, St. Albans), on behalf of himself and Messrs Kirk and Connelly, asked the Minister of Finance (Mr Nordmeyer) whether he had seen a newspaper report of a comment by Mr J. T, Watts • Opposition, Fendalton) in which Mr Watts was stated to have said: "Mr Nordmeyer must have either approved this decision or instructed the Loans Board to come to the decision it gave.” The question asked Mr Nordmeyer to confirm or deny the statement. “It is completely incorrect to say that I instructed the Local Authorities Loans Board, or that I was consulted in any way before the board’s decision was reached,” said Mr Nordmeyer. Mr W. H. Gillespie (Opposition, Hurunui) asked Mr Nordmeyer whether, in view of the fact that the Mayor of Christchurch saw fit to call together the Labour members of Parliament for the area to discuss with the authority the question of the board’s refusal, Mr Nordmeyer would inform the House if that was an indication of Government implication and direction. “I am sure the Mayor of Christchurch would refute any suggestion of implication or direction of the Government,” said Mr Nordmeyer.

Asked by Messrs Kirk and Connelly whether he would give an assurance that preparatory work

on the road tunnel by the Ministry of Works would continue unabated, so that the attitude of the Loans Board did not result ‘.in delay, Mr Watt said: "The Ministry of Works has completed the investigation and design work for the proposed road tunnel in accordance with the arrangement made with the Road Tunnel Authority, and in the meantime there is no further work in rela-tion-to the project required to be undertaken by the department.”