FINANCE TO COMPLETE RAILWAYS

Evening Star, Issue 21823, 12 September 1934, Page 2

FINANCE TO COMPLETE RAILWAYS

“ BEST INVESTMENT IN NEW ZEALAND" ii [From Our Parliamentarv Reporter.) WELLINGTON, September 11. Declaring that British investors considered that the financing of a company to complete the Napier-Gisborne and the South Island Main Trunk railways was the best investment in New Zealand, Mr Healy, speaking in the House to-night, said he had a scheme which would enable the ChristchurcllPieton section and the railway wharves at Picton to be taken over by a private concern, resulting in a redaction by three-quarters of the running costs and an improvement of rolling stock by 500 per cent. Referring ‘ to the statement in the Budget that railway construction had ceased, Mr Mealy recalled that until the formation of the Coalition Mr Forbes had urged the completion of the South Island Main Trunk every year since 1910. The Railway Board, which now controlled the railways, could not manage them. They could not even manage a Sawmill. - All rights in this matter had been taken away from the members of the House, many of whom were of opinion that it would be better to spend portion of the unemployment funds on the completion of these lines, instead of spending money in the present manner. The people of Marlborough would not take the statement in the Budget lying down, continued Mr Healy. A meeting of Marlborough and Canterbury interests was to be held to discuss the best way in which the subject could be tackled, and there was a group prepared to finance the completion of both railways. He trusted that any fair proposition which was put lip would not be rejected by the Government.