TRANSPORT POLICY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 99, 28 April 1945, Page 9

TRANSPORT POLICY

MINISTER REPLIES TO MR. KNIGHT

In the course of a reply to Mr. H. J. Knight, national secretary of the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance, New Zealand Taxi Proprietors' Federation, and the New Zealand Carriers' Federation, concerning the policy decided upon for the review of transport licences, the Minister of Transport (Mr. O'Brien) denied that he had repudiated assurances given to the industry on April 13. On his instructions the Transport Department was making representations setting out the Government's policy as applicable to each case before Licensing Authorities in the open hearings. The Licensing Authority must be satisfied that it was in the public interest when he made part of a service available for an exserviceman.

The Minister said that he had told the industry that endeavours would be made to fit the ex-servicemen in wherever possible, even where merger companies or firms holding large numbers of vehicle authorities were concerned. Any operator who could make a case before the Licensing Authority was entitled to the restoration of operating rights, voluntarily curtailed by the industry's control committee, and nothing in his statement implied otherwise.

"I again say it is not the Government's intention to confiscate services, as I understand the term confiscation," the Minister continued; "To my mind, and according to the dictionary definition, the term means appropriation without payment or compensation, and that is not proposed." One of the most important policy matters the Government had to deal with was the rehabilitation of ex-ser-vicemen, and where rehabilitation could be carried out in the transport industry without undue hardship or financial embarrassment, to those already engaged in it, the Government intended to take all steps possible to rehabilitate men in that ' industry. There was no intention, however, of interfering with the present judicial methods of dealing with the transport licences, or of amending the law in that respect.

"While I have the highest regard for the transport industry, I have a very definite responsibility to the general users of transport throughout the country, and to the ex-servicemen. I intend to see-that as far as possible the transport legislation is administered so that all classes receive just and 'fnir treatment." the Minister concluded.