High vandalism cost

Press, 30 August 1980, Page 27

High vandalism cost

PA Auckland Vandalism and arson in schools cost New Zealand taxpayers more than $4 million in the last financial year, the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington), told Intermediate School Principals in Auck- , land yesterday. But the cost could not simply be measured in financial terms, he said. “While $4 million is not pigeon feed by anyone’s standards, the real cost is probably in the psychological effect it has on children and teachers, and the wanton destruction of

their work and painfully acquired materials and resources.” A working party, set up to investigate the causes and suggest remedies for the problem, had organised pilot schemes and experiments which would be evaluated. These included closer surveillance from adjacent houses occupied by a caretaker, extra alarm and security systems, a $2-to-sl subsidy for environmental improvements, and a special fund for schools which were experimenting with solutions.

The Railways Department at Christchurch has loaded the biggest liquefied petroleum gas tank (pictured) to be carried by rail in New Zealand. The 15-tonne vessel with a capacity for 30 tonnes of L.P.G. was ordered by BP and will be taken to Frankton, near Hamilton. Twelve metres long and 2.8 m in diameter, the tank was made in Christchurch by Mason Anderson Engineering. Because of its size the tank will be taken to Picton during daylight. There would be a speed restriction as it passed through stations because the clearance between the platform and the tank would be “minute,” according to the district traffic manager for the Railways (Mr M. C. Hudson).