Counties Asked To Make More Use Of Contractors

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31704, 13 June 1968, Page 8

Counties Asked To Make More Use Of Contractors

An appeal to counties to use contractors more and to save overseas funds by restraint in buying new plant was made by the Minister of Works (Mr Allen) when he addressed the opening session of the annual conference of the New Zealand Counties’ Association yesterday morning.

The Minister said that counties would have more National Roads Board money to spend this year, and appealed to councils to complete their district planning schemes and to co-operate with regional water boards in meeting local water and soil conservation problems.

After detailing the cuts in National Roads Board income over the last 18 months, culminating in the 10 per cent cut in local body allocations last year, the Minister said that there had been a tendency to blame the cuts entirely on the loss of licence and registration fees. In any case, the board's income would have been reduced by $6.6m. Of the $7.6m which Government action took from the board, the Government handed back $3.25m plus $400,000 a year from heavy traffic fees. Out of a total reduction in the board's income of just over sllm, direct Government action ■ had been responsible for the loss of s4m.

At April 1 this year, the board had a $4.17m balance, $2.77m more than had been

expected. The board took immediate steps to increase allocations by about 4} per cent, making the amounts to local bodies slightly more than in 1967-68. Because contractors had been having a very lean time, the board approved an immediate start on works worth $2.373m. “The counties this year will have a little more to spend than last year," said the Minister.

He appealed to councils to use contractors as much as possible, for the industry needed a boost now, and in many cases contractors were the best and most economical way of getting the job done. With a surplus of plant in the country, councils must help the Government to save overseas funds, either by using existing plant, or by hiring it, rather than importing more. “The whole country will benefit if we can maintain a strong contracting industry, and Government departments are using contractors more, and will continue to do so,” said the Minister. “Government work is not enough. “Local bodies are buying more plant and then finding that they cannot use it to capacity. I am convinced that greatest efficiency and the best use of overseas funds

will be achieved if majoi works are let to contractors.” New Zealand was now living within its income and the key to what would happen in the next 12 to 18 months lay overseas, and in how readily exports sold and at what prices. For the next year or two. New Zealand was not likely to have the funds to justify any great increase in imports, including contracting plant One of the problems of this restraint was unemployment, said the Minister. The Government was trying to boost economic activity, was creating jobs, and was encouraging local bodies to start subsidised work. „

“By tackling seasonal unemployment in this way, we should be able to cushion the impact" he said.

Forty-odd of the 112 counties had not yet submitted town-planning schemes, as they were required to do by the end of 1970. At the rate schemes were coming in, it looked as if there would be about 20 counties not ready by the deadline. He asked these counties to act saying he did not want to have schemes prepared fot 20 per cent of the counties. As local planning was tied to Government problems, the Government could be more helpful to counties with planning schemes. Turning to the effects of the Water and Soil Conservation Act the Minister said that its purpose was to de

velop a consistent national policy for natural water, and to co-ordinate the work of the two national agencies. Regional water boards, he said, were expected to take the lead in solving local problems, and to get the views of territorial authorities.

“The Act provides for considerable flexibility, particularly In its provisions for delegation, and I am sure that in practice this will make it possible for a wide range of local needs to be met satisfactorily,” he said. “If you study the problem of your area, it should be possible for any county or catchment plan to be carried out in accord with local opinion.

“I have already asked the catchment authorities to discuss water management problems with their territorial local authorities. I ask you to co-operate fully in helping to develop a policy for the use and conservation of our most valuable natural resource—water,” said Mr Allen.