Labour’s transport plans

Press, 22 November 1978, Page 6

Labour’s transport plans

An efficient rail service; linked with a revived ship-j ping sendee would lessen the problems caused byi long-haul road tranpon. ac-| cording to Sir Basil Arthur.' member of Parliament for Timaru and Labour’s spokes-| man on transport. Sir Basil told a meeting of; about 150 people in Christ-! church lest evening that New' Zealand’s transport system was “a shambles.” The Labour Party would change the method of collectin'- of the road users’ tax and would also consider replacing it with a fuel tax.

The rail system would be restructured. “Under the National Government, rail fares and freight costs have increased 125 per cent and 500 rail services have been withdrawn. 280 of these in the South Island. The whole rail system would be restructured and it would cost money,” he said. Labour would build up the existing railway workshops, manv of which had fallen into disrepair, and it would encourage the Railways to tender for other Government work for the workshops.

Shipping services would be! “resuscitated.” A roll-on! shipping service would be; linked to about four ports. Sir Basil also spoke onl the issue of the populationdrift to the North Island. I “The greatest number of' Islanders in Auckland are! South Islanders.” he said.; “People are moving from* the South to escane unemployment which has been I [created by a Government; that has not pursued a policy of regional develop-) iment.”

A Labour government, would ensure that a balance!

was maintained between the North Island and the South Island, by a suitable regionaldevelopment policy. “It is a hopeless situation if all the people are in the North Island, and all the sheep and cattle are in the South Island,” Sir Basil said.

New Zealand was basically an undeveloped country and land-development work had to be done. A Labour government would inspire projects that would be labourintensive so that the unemployment problem would be solved.