NEW MINISTRY Co-ordination Of Transport

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31654, 15 April 1968, Page 11

NEW MINISTRY Co-ordination Of Transport

(New Zealand Pries Association) WELLINGTON, April 12. The Government has approved in principle the establishment of a Ministry of Transportation.

The State Services Commission has been instructed to prepare a report and an organisation structure which will achieve the objectives of the new Ministry. The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said the report would be examined interdepartmentally and by Ministers and would be amended as seemed desirable before being finally approved by the Government The new Ministry was planned to eventually link administratively Government departments or sections of departments concerned with the regulation of transport and the provision of economic advice on transport to the Government said Mr Holyoake. For some time there had been an awareness inside and outside of Government circles that the present division of transport administration made it difficult for the Government to foster the most

efficient and economical methods of moving primary and secondary production, and of getting the maximum benefit from every dollar invested in transport. This was particularly important as New Zealand spent more than sl2oom a year on transport, said Mr Holyoake. He emphasised that the setting up of a Ministry did not entail complete Integration of all functions. There could be no transfer between the respective services of officers with specialised technical experience or responsibility, other than on economic research, systematic planning and internal administration and servicing activities.