PUBLIC WORKS PLANS

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 July 1946, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS PLANS

GOVERNMENT SEEKS ADVICE REGIONAL COUNCILS’ PART (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 18. The Minister of Works (Mr Semple) to-day expressed a wish that in districts where works proposals have been submitted to local authorities regional councils should review these as soon as possible. “Proposals covering other districts in New Zealand have been scrutinised and are being assembled by the Ministry of Works, but the Government wishes, before preparing construction programmes for the next financial year, to have the benefit of local authorities’ advice regarding worts they consider should have first priority,” said Mr Semple. This made it essential for regional councils to be well established on a proper working basis, as the responsibility for reconciling competitive local claims must be placed on them, otherwise the whole benefit to local authorities of regional planning would be lost.

Proposals outlined already in various centres represented applications which’had been made to the Ministry of Works and which the Government thought must have consideration within the next 10 years. In each year programmes of work would be prepared related, of course, to the finance available and the policy of full employment and full production to which the Government was pledged, and from now on the views of local authorities as to which -works should be included and which deferred would be available to the Government. The assembling of all proposals regionally in one picture, enabling development patterns to be formed by local authorities and by the Government jointly for years ahead, irrespective of when the actual works would be carried out, was essential if local authorities, particularly urban ones, were going to plan with any safety at all. Regional councils would be of great assistance in dealing with regional problems of manpower and material .shortage, which it was difficult to handle effectively and quickly from Wellington. . Mr Semple said he was sure me Government’s inclination towards decentralisation in this respect would be appreciated. He hoped there would be no further misconception of the Government’s intentions regarding regional planning. He had never indicated that ( all the projects described in. any of the plans announced to date would be carried out within 10 years, but that all ol of them would require consideration within that time, and from year to year as each year’s programme ol works was drawn up. Mr Semple said no expenditure ol fantastic sums was ever contemplated. At all times expenditure on the programme would be directly related to the national economy. Relatively. the annual programme would not be any greater than the country undertook* without 'difficulty before the war, and all works would be subjected lo the closest scrutiny.