The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1930. TAIERI MOUTH AND DEEP STREAM.

Evening Star, Issue 20670, 18 December 1930, Page 12

The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1930. TAIERI MOUTH AND DEEP STREAM.

From what can bo ascertained there is a sum of money earmarked (for unemployment relief in the vicinity of Dunedin) to- construct a road down the final gorge of the Taieri before it enters the sea—i.e., from Titri to Taieri Mouth. A conference of interested parties was held l a month ago. At that meeting stress was laid on the utility aspect. It was represented that it would make easy the transport of agricultural lime for settlers. But there must bo a sense of proportion in these matters. Against the charges on the capital cost of such a road and those for maintenance there can be put the reduced cost of production for those who face the present expense of transportation and the increased production of those who consider lime too costly an item. There can bo little doubt as to what conclusion a little rough .and ready arithmetic would coerce even the most voluble supporter of the new road. Until the survey is completed only vague estimates of the cost can bo quoted, but there are grounds for believing that it is already disclosing that the construction must be more costly than has hitherto been assumed, principally because there seems no chance of the avoidance of two or three miles of rock cutting, not always on a minor scale. If the land towards Taieri Mouth is really hungry for lime there is the river for transportation, and water carriage is notoriously the cheapest of all. It can hardly bo denied that the main reason for advocacy of a riverside road is that it will afford an outlet for the expenditure of public money on relief work. And it can scarcely be denied that the only excuse for such an undertaking is the provision of a scenic route for motorists. In short, at a time when there is complaint of a shortage of money for productive purposes, there is advocacy of applying it purely to a luxury purpose. This sort of thing, even if it has not contributed to New Zealand’s present economic situation (which it, has), is not what is going to help towards extrication from that situation. Whether one looks at the matter from a commercial transport or a fdubist viewpoint, one is forced to the conclusion that the river itself as a means of communication is a badly neglected asset. In less febrile times the river excursion to Taieri Mouth was a favourite one with Dunedin people; but the present generation seems unwilling to make acquaintance with an undeniably picturesque gorge .unless it can be done awheel on terra firm a at inordinate, though not immediately felt cost. The Government has advised the community to curtail expenditure on luxuries, but its piactico does not coincide with its precept m this matter, if it bo true, as was stated on behalf of the Taieri Mouth Amenities Society at last month s conference, that the Government wants to make this road, and the money set aside cannot bo diverted to some other purpose. There are other purposes not much further distant from Dunedin to which money for unemployed relief could bo more usefully applied. One of them was brought before the Minister of Public Works quite recently. On perhaps the most direct route to Central Otago there is an approach to a river crossing which constitutes a permanent depreciation to the value of the rest of this arterial road. It is superfluous to enlarge on 5 the difficulties, if not sometimes the danger, of the Deep Stream approaches to motorists who have already tested them. There is a proposal to construct a deviation which will reduce the ruling grade from 1 in 4\ to 1 in 10J. It was urged before Mr Taverner by a very representative deputation, hut the Ministerial reply—-im-peccable enough perhaps from the rigid departmental viewpoint—only threw into strong relief the. complicated tangle

of rod tapo into which our legislation and administration have lauded us. Tho Highways Board was created by the Government to help and not to hinder tho reconstruction of tho most useful and most used roads, but it now seems as though tho Highways Board has cut free from Ministerial control, even when backed by public opinion directed by tho dictates of common sense. If our system of administration is so inelastic that tho Minister finds it impossible to recommend tho spending of money from tho Public Works Fund on a really urgent public work, it is time that elasticity was reintroduced. The Highways Board is really a branch of tho Public Works Department, but it now appears that tho tail wags tho dog. Ono is tempted to surmise that tho greater propinquity of Taiori Mouth than Deep Stream to Dunedin is the compelling reason with the Minister, but such an argument is only ono weak one to sot against a number of contrary arguments of far greater weight.

A northern contemporary, commenting on recent admissions by tho Minister of Labour in a speech at Matomata, states that it was formerly tho contention of this Government that tho unemployed were constructing necessary reproductive works. But the cost of those works has been analysed by Ministers, and they are becoming scared. Mr Smith said it? was costing tho country £G a week for each man on relief work, that figure including overhead charges such as interest and housing. Six months ago Mr Ransom placed the cost at £350 a year for wages, housing, transport, and general expenses, but without counting engineering, materials, or plant. But tho figure of £6 or £7 a week is only nominal, for Mr Smith also said it was admitted that tho Government received only 70 per cent, value for the money spent. Such an admission means that the cost of relief works has been 40 per cent, greater than their value; that of £2,000,000 spent in eighteen months over £600,000 has simply been wasted by the inefficiency of the relief works system. Is it to be deduced that tho unemployed are therefore to be confined to unwanted undertakings, and that this district is to be given the Taieri Moitth road and made to await indefinitely the Deep Stream deviation P This seems to us a treble waste which tho more hard-pressed contributors of the unemployment tax will bitterly resent.