HOW MUCH CAN BE SAVED?

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 47, 23 August 1930, Page 8

HOW MUCH CAN BE SAVED?

♦ There has been much discussion of the wisdom of railway-building operations, and unfortunately party feeling has been introduced. The statement submitted to the House of Representatives by the Prime Minister yesterday should convince all members of the need for putting party feeling and also parochial claims on one side. The subject is far too serious for the intrusion of I such obscuring factors. Already we have a railway loss of £1,211,269, and this, with the savings and revenue increases it is hoped to effect this! year, is unlikely to he reduced below £850,000. Surely no party or provincial feeling would warrant the addition of a further three-quarters of a million on the debit side. The position is the more serious because even an immediate stoppage of all railway construction would not avoid the whole of the loss. Several of the lines are almost completed, and stoppage would save only a small part of the interest and part of the operating charges. The interest charges account for the major part of the anticipated loss. It is possible that some of the estimates will be disputed, but, in the meantime, we may accept them as stating the position with fair accuracy. The facts thus disclosed are that five of the lines are likely to show a total operating loss of £92,053, which will be offset by an operating profit of £4-2,160 on two others, leaving a net operating loss of £49,893. | [This is sufficiently serious, but it,

is the interest loss totalling £687,660 that is appalling. This is partly accounted for by the heavy cost of construction. The lines now being built are chiefly through most difficult country. The lines through easy country were built long ago. Moreover, there is the increased cost which Avould have to be incurred at this time even if there were no structural difficulties. But the question now to be faced by Parliament is how much can be saved. It will help in consideration of this if we set out the estimated total cost, the expenditure to 30th June, and the interest charges. These are as follow:— Total cost. Spent. Int. £ £ £ OkalhauHanßiahua . 080,000 570,809 34,000 Klrikopun!Dareavllle . 510,000 377,108 25,500 GisborneEskdale 4,871,000 2,908,904 213,550 OkahukuraTahora .... 2,259,000 1,767,580 112,950 S.I. Main Trunk 2,581,000 1*3,631 135,160 WestportInangahua .. 877,000 373,398 43,850 KawatiriInangahua .. 1,853,000 187,560 92,050 It will be seen that there is comparatively little interest-saving possible on the Okaihau-Rangiahua, Kiriko-puni-Dargaville. or OkahukuraTahora sections. But on the East Coast (Gisborne-Eskdale), South Island Main Trunk, and Midland (Kawatiri-Inangahua) and WestportInangahua lines there is yet time to reconsider. That reconsideration must be faced by a Government which has Ihad to Budget for about £1,500,000 additional taxation and to tear the Defence system to tatters for the sake of economy. A Parliament which evades the duty will prove itself utterly incapable of dealing with national problems on national lines.