M.O.T. data warning by Mr Prebble

Press, 16 July 1983, Page 3

M.O.T. data warning by Mr Prebble

P A Wellington Grave reservations must now exist about the reliability of Ministry of Transport advice to the Government, Labour’s transport spokesman, Mr R. W. Prebble, alleged yesterday. He was commenting on the release of documents this week which detailed the Ministry’s 1977 savings projections for the Air New Zealand-National Airways Corporation merger. The Ministry told the Government that annual savings from the merger,of $12.8 million a year were “reasonable and achievable,” said Mr Prebble. Events had proved the advice to be wrong, he said. “The new airline not only showed a huge loss, but the domestic section for the first time also lost money.” The Ministry “may also be totally wrong in its advice in a secret report on the future of long-distance rail passenger services,” he said. He called on the Ministry to release its rail report. Mr Prebble said the Ministry’s published discussion document on the future of transport licensing has been

severely criticised by those in the industry for “being inaccurate, anecdotal, inadequately researched, and in parts, wrong. “Authorities on Railways accounts claim the real cost of railway passenger services is less than one-third of the Ministry’s estimate,” he said. Mr Prebble said the Official Information Act must be regarded as a failure if the public could obtain details only after the Government had “made a disastrous decision.” Treasury officials and the National Airways Corporation disputed the savings estimated by the Ministry and Air New Zealand before the 1978 merger, reports released on Thursday showed. The Minister of Transport, Mr Gair, circulated a Cabinet paper made public under the new Official Information Act. The paper had been presented by the then Minister, Mr McLachlan.

News media representatives had requested copies of the reports which preceded the merger.