MECHANISATION BENEFITS

Evening Star, Issue 22630, 23 April 1937, Page 1

MECHANISATION BENEFITS

c MR SEMPLE DEFENDS PUBLIC WCRKS PCLIOY £712,090 SPENT ON MACHINES AND GEAR £440,569 IN BRITAIN AND NEW ZEALAND [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, April 22. Commenting on the remarks relating to public works policy made at Waiuku recently by Mr J. Hargest, M.P., the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) said to-day: “If Mr Hargest possessed a wider knowledge of New Zealand and its needs he would know that the country is crying out for development, and, far from mortgaging the future, as he puts it, the present Government’s public works policy aims at providing development essential to the country’s progress; Mr Hargest must appi-eciate the fact—and I think lie does—that the Public Works Department played a very creditable part in the development of the Dominion until his Government reduced its efficiency to a state of stagnation. “ The present Government’s policy certainly is accelerated, but this Government is convinced of the need for such development, and we have sufficient faith in the future of the country to have regard to that future and to strive to build accordingly. The works we are undertaking to-day will definitely provide assets to-the State. Admittedly, future generations will have to carry part of the cost, but long after Mr Hargest and I have crossed the Great Divide these assets will remain, and future generations will benefit from them to a greater degree than ive will. “Mr Hargest asks if I have a right to mortgage the future for the purpose of adding to my personal glory. If Mr Hargest considers that the heavy responsibility and trust imposed upon til© Minister of Public Works gives that harassed individual time to worry about personal glory, then it is just as well for New Zealand and for Mr .Hargest himself that he is not Minister of Public Works. “ I want to tell Mr Hargest here and now that I am not in politics for personal glory. I care not what he may think of me or my efforts, nor will the attempted oratory in which he is indulging deter me from what I conceive to be my duty to New Zealand and its people. “I am putting all the energy, strength, and power I possess into doing my_ job. I have given up all personal interests and am giving my all in my effort to do my job, and Mr Hargest sits back and sneeringly talks of glory. 1 am not looking for glory, but my conception of my duty is different from Mr Hargest’s. “ Mr Hargest also states that men on public works are receiving pay that cannot be earned on uneconomic jobs,’ Just what does he mean? Admittedly the department’s men to-day are earning better “wages than ever in the, past, but they are doing the “work. The' output is greater than ever before, and surely the men are entitled to what they earn. Moreover, notwithstanding the good -wages paid the cost of construction has decreased. How does' Mr Hargest square this fact with the starvation wages paid by his Government? Does he mean that the works in hand to-day are uneconomic ? If so, I invite him to come in and have a closer look at the Public Works Department and what it is doing and ascertain for himself just how closely the searchlight of- investigation is turned on all suggested works. They are reviewed in the minutest detail by men of wide experience, proved ability, and whose detailed knowledge of New Zealand and its needs would perhaps surprise Mr Hargest. Moreover, in the selection of “works the views of the particular local bodies concerned carry their just weight. Mr Hargest need have no fear on that score, but ho should realise that in a developmental organisation of this kind it is necessary to look further than 12 months ahead. THE MACHINERY. “Mr Hargest has made reference to the South Island Main Trunk Railway, and has asked whether it will profit future generations or he a liability round their necks. Ho knows ns well ns I do that the present Government did not start the South Island Main Trunk Railway, and the question this Government had to face when it came into office was—ivould it he better to complete the line and get the benefit of whatever developmental value it possessed or allow the expenditure previously incurred to continue to be a dead loss, with no hope of any return? The same question had to be faced in regard to other lines stopped some years ago. “In this Government’s view there was only one thing to do, and that ivas to carry on and complete the lines to provide an asset and got what return ivas available. I do not know ivhether Mr Hargest had an opportunity of viewing these uncompleted railways in the forlorn, derelict state in which I found them when I took control. If ho had he must have realised what a monument they Mere of wasted effort, abandonment of hope, and what a sad commentary they were on the political administration of those days. “Mr Hargest also referred to the amazing quantity of new machinery of American pattern to be found on public works in the North Island,’ and asked : ‘What sum has been spent, whether it was all necessary, and whether tenders have been called, or an order was simply handed to a favoured concern? ’ 1 take the strongest possible exception to the veiled insinuation regarding tenders. Does Mr Hargest mean to suggest that the purchasing of this plant and machinery has not been done in a proper and orthodox manner? In making such an underhand insinuation he is striking not only at the integrity of mysef as a Minister, but at the integrity of my departmental officers as well. Of course, tenders ivere called, and the market was tested from time to time. So far as American plant and machinery are concerned, what the department has bought M-as purchased through the representatives of no lower than 23 American manufacturers.

“ I say that the new machinery was necessary, and mainly on account of the policy of the past Government (of which Mr Hargest was a member) in selling to the highest bidder practically all the gear the department then possessed. Mr Hargest should know that months ago I stated publicly that on account of practically all the equipment having been sold under instructions from the late Government it Mould be necessary again to equip the department with' necessary constructional machinery, and in doing so my policy would he; First, to buy plant of New Zealand manufacture; secondly, to buy plant manufactured in the United Kingdom; and, thirdly, then to consider the best that the rest of the world had to offer. This policy has been adhered to strictly, and the purchasing has been carried out in a lit and proper manner, and according to the usual procedure of the department. It was found, however, that certain of the heavier types of constructional machinery was not available from New Zealand or British manufacturers, and that it had to be obtained from America. SAVING OF A THIRD. *‘ The expenditure on purely construction plant and machinery since January 1, 1936, approximates £500 ; - 000, and if installed machinery is added the 'expenditure totals £712,000. This pmouut is spread over different countries as follows:

“ From this it will be seen that £440,509 has been spent in New Zealand and Britain and £272,166 in foreign countries, including America.

“ This expenditure certainly is large, but it must bo remembered that when this Government took control the Public Works Department was practically depleted of effective plant. It is now properly and efficiently equipped, with the result that on much of the work a-saving of about 33 1-3 per cent, on the former cost is being made and the work being done in about half the time. It is estimated that these machines will have ■ paid for themselves in four years’ time. “ I repeat that I was compelled to purchase this machinery in order to bring down the cost of construction, and no one hated . inore_ than 1 did purchasing largo quantities of machinery from America, but it had- to ho done because Engjand did not have this type of machine :to sell.: As-.'-su matter of fact the same type of American machine is in common ■ use in the British Isles and in the rest pf the colonies—in fact, the world over. “ Before these machines were purchased we compelled the company to give a practical demonstration at its OM'n expense of the capacity of these machines in New Zealand. Both Houses of Parliament were invited to see these machines at work, the Press ■was invited, the public M“as invited, and the engineering profession was invited. Such a. demonstration as this had never taken place before in New Zealand, and it was for the purpose of giving the engineers of my department an opportunity of selecting the best type of machine to do constructional M-ork. After the demonstration had been given, and we were satisfied that these machines were up to standard, we called public tenders, and the American company was the successful tenderer for this type of machine. BENEFITS OF MECHANISATION. “ To give some typical examples of the benefit of mechanisation on suitable jobs I will quote the following:—

“ 1. The Nelson Aerodrome.—Under the old system of working with wheelbarrows and tip-carts the estimated cost was £175,000, and the time for completion would have been at least three years. The contract which I have now let for the work as a completely mechanised job is for £35,000, and the job will be completed in 18 months, thus saving the nation £140,000 and giving the services in less than half the time. “ 2. The Ashburton-Lyndhurst Irrigation Scheme,—The average cost per cubic yard of earthwork excavated from tho solid and finally placed in the filling is by manual methods 3s 6d. By machinery it is Is 6d. “ 3. The Timaru Airport.—The cost per cubic yard of excavating and placing the stophanks is by manual methods 2s 3d. By machinery it is lid. In this case also the cost of levelling the land can ho reduced by 80 per cent, by the use of machinery. “4. The Hawkeswood Saddle Cutting.—Tho length of this cutting is 46 chains, and the maximum height is 63ft, which necessitates the excavatioif of 290,000 cubic yards of material. By the provision of additional reliable, up-to-date plant the improvement in time for the job is estimated at 40 per cent, and tho improvement in cost at 25 per cent.. “5. The Hutt River Reclamation Work. —The saving on this work is Is 5d per cubic yard, as under: —By manual methods. 2s; by machinery, 7d. “ 6. The Plimmertou Coast Rond. — Tho saving on this ivork is Is 7d per cubic yard, as under:—By manual methods, Is ,9d; by machinery. 2d. “ These are examples typical of many other irorks proceeding throughout the country at the present time. “ As an instance of what men will do when well paid awl well I should like to quote the Mohaka viaduct, which is the highest viaduct of the kind in tho Southern Hemisphere. Young men, who were living in a state of semi-starvation with no prospects in life, M-ero given increased pay' of 23s a clay. This gave them encouragement to M-ork. They M-ere carefully selected, and many were trained on the job. They have finished the job in four months under the schedule time without a single accident, thus cutting out four months' of overhead costs, which .means a saving of hundreds of pounds to the Dominion.

COALITION’S DUMPING OF G€AR. “I could give many other illustrations of how work is being expedited everywhere throughout the Dominion. Air Hargest, or any other member of the late Government, should be the last man in New Zealand to indulge in unbalanced, superficial criticism in the

face of the record they left. The late Government started and partly completed eight railway lines —viz., the Westnort-Inangahua line, the South. Island Main Trunk, the East Coast Main Trunk, the Dargaville branch line, the Murchison the Rotorua to Taupo line, the Okaihau northwards line, and the- Palmerston North deviation. “U|i to the time these lines were - abandoned they had cost £7,052,866, with an annual interest bill of £299,601. The total interest paid to March 31, 1936, was £2,964,568. When these lines were abandoned, the Coalition Government sold all the gear, including hutments, married men'* quarters, and plant of all descriptions, They even tore up the rails on partly completed lines. Picks and shovels were dumped into the Duller River, on the west Coast, and, I am told, into the sea on the Parnassus line. “ When I took control there wai nothing but rust and . chaos and na equipment whatever, with 11,000 halffed men on public works and their families steeped in penury and want. Yet the people _ responsible for this tragedy and criminal waste have the presumption to stand on the public platform and offer unfair criticism of those who have had to pull New Zealand out of the state of chaos , and despair in which it was left. “ I want to remind Mr Hargest that he and his colleagues were successful in deceiving the people of this country for a period of time,- but the lesson the people learned as. a result of his Government’s administration was so sad and so cruel that it will never be forgotten. It has left an indelible impression on the minds of the people who suffered, and Mr Hargest’s group will again suffer politically when election day comes round. We will meet Mr Hargest and his natty when the political gong sounds and the people are summoned to give their verdict on this Government’s administration as against the records of the administration of the Government with which he was associated.”

New Zealand ... £ ... 85,698 ... 354,871 Great Britain ... America ... 231,152 Sweden ... 34,600 Germany ... ..; 5,248 Switzerland ... . .688 Austria ... 478