“National Roads Board Not Santa Claus"

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 16

“National Roads Board Not Santa Claus"

(N.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 1. A suggestion that local bodies might have to raid the National Roads Board fund to ease the burden on rating drew adverse comment

today. The board is “far from being in a position to play Santa Claus to local bodies,” said the president of the New Zealand Carriers’ Federation (Mr L. V. Etwell) and the president of the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance (Mr C. R. Robinson) today. They were answering comments made by Mr A. M. Linton, president of the New Zealand Municipal Association, to the Institute of Town Clerks yesterday. | “Mr Linton’s statement surprises us because he is a memI her of the National Roads Board and an ardent supporter of its policy,” Messrs i Etwell and Robinson said in a j joint statement “We suspect

he might have had his tongue in his cheek a little.”

“In the last five years, local authorities have received £54,700,000 from the National Roads Board fund, which is no less than 42 per cent of the board’s expenditure,” said the statement.

“Mr Linton suggested that nowhere else in the world was roading revenue used exclusively for roading. We •would suggest that nowhere else in the world is there a country with our standard of living which still needs so much development.” The two presidents said the necessity for more and better roading was continually being pressed by farmers, industrialists and those who promoted tourism.

Far from being in a position to play Santa Claus to the local bodies, the National Roads Board was conscious that its likely revenue over the next five years would fall short of the country’s roading needs, they said.