NO FAVOURS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1930, Page 9

NO FAVOURS

EDUCATION VOTES

MINISTER'S REPUDIATION

A suggestion1* that during the regime of the present Minister of Education (the Hon. H. Atniore) inoro money had been spent in the Nelson district (which Mr. Atmoro represents) • than in any other educational district was made in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon by iC Reform member for "Wellington Suburbs ' (Mr. K. A. Wright)'' Mr. Wright asked if there was any system whereby the amount of money expended in any educational district was limited. Nelson appeared to have had a tremendous amount of money expended on it during the last twelve months or so. . There was, for instance, the Nelson Central School. When last he visited Nelson that was a very fine building. It might have been in need of remodelling, but instead of that a new building had been erected. There were hundreds of, buildings in Now Zealand in a far worse condition than the Nelson Central School. Then there were the new school at Stoke, and a .new boys' college and a new girls' college. On top of that they had the information 'that eighteen acres of land had been presented to one or other of the colleges., He thought the House ivas entitled to know how much all these tilings had cost. If the Minister would grfe the House a statement showing how rniuch 'money had been expended in the Nelson district during the last twelve "or eighteen months it wonld bo most interesting and satisfying. Such a statement would be in the Minister's own interests. Mr. E. J. Howard (Labour, Christchurch South) said he had been very surprised to hear, Mr. Wright's attack on the:. Minister. During the time .the member for Wellington Suburbs had charge of the portfolio of Education they could get nothing at all, but all that had changed since Mr.. Atmore as-sumed'-V "the office. It was a wonder how Mr.-. Atmore found the time to attend to all the matters which were brought under his notice. UNGENEROUS SUGGESTION. Replying, Mr. Atmore said ha had been surprised when. Mr. Wright had seen fit to make such an ungenerous suggestion in regard to the money expended in the Nelson district. Mrl E~. M'Kee* (Labour, Wellington South): "You wouldn't expect anything else, from him." Mr. Atmore said he had never allowed any question of party to enter into the matter of the erection of newschools. One of the main objects he had had in visiting the variou^ parts of the Dominion was to ascertain the relative urgency of the works which required attention. It was necessary 'that someone should have that information in order that there might be a fair and equitable distribution of the money. Atmore said he repudiated absolutely- any suggestion that an undue amount of money had been expended Sri his district. Mr. Wright's memory yras apparently so short that he did not sremember that one of the. votes of iwhich he complained was granted bf Mmself. , „ Mr. Wright: "Which, was thatf Mr. AtmoTe: "The Nelson Girls' College." ' Mr. K. Semple (Labour, Wellington !BastV. "You've had the earthquake, ■&oo." '' Mr. AttnoreT "1 am coming to that." Speaking in regard to the Girls' Coljege, Mr. Atmore said the .plans •. had ■aot been suitable, and'he had refused to sanction them. The school at Stoke •was sixty or seventy years old, and in torder to replace at a.new building had been erected at a cost of £1100. "Let ■me tell the hon. member for Wellington Suburbs," said Mr. Atmore, "that I am not such a-coward as to refuse to sanction new buildings in my own district when they are needed." SCHOOLS OF GAOL TYPE. The- Minister?;went on. to say that a great deal of expenditure had been necessitated by the. earthquake, as the Leader of the Labour Party and others would bear out.. . The dormitory of Kelson College-had been rendered useless and unsafe: - Surely it had been the correct thing to do to put that Mr. Semple:1 /'The job had to be jaone."The Minister said that perhaps members did not know that tho college iauthoritiDS were paying 5 per cent, on the money which it had been necessary to expend. Referring to the Nelson Central School, the Minister said that ,the old building had.been of the gaol type. Ho believed that every child should be able.to sec out of the windows of a school room. So far as he was concerned, politics would never enter into his consideration of educational problems. . Dnring the recent tour of New Zealand by the. Education Committee not once had the. ugly head of party politics obtruded itself. Mr. Atmore concluded by asking if there was to be discrimination against « particular section of children just, because they happened to live: in a district represented by the Minister of Education.