PREMIER REFUSES TO BE DRAWN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22666, 17 June 1948, Page 4

PREMIER REFUSES TO BE DRAWN

NO RAILWAY PROMISES

* ‘ WITH regard to your northern railway link, I am going to make no rash promises. You would only despise me if I did so. If I said that we would make a start within six months or a year you would merely say that I was being silly, said the Prime Minister, Mr, P. Fraser, dealing at last night’s Chamber of Commerce gathering with questions relating to Gisborne’s communications.

He had been asked by Mr. T. A. N. Corson, president of the chamber, to endeavour to have an investigation ot the northern rail route initiated as soon as possible. Mr. Fraser refused to be drawn inlo any commitments on the matter.

He agreed with Mr. Corson that air, road and rail communications were of the utmost importance to Gisborne, and promised to take up with Mr. R. Semple questions of improvements to highways. He also undertook to see that no time was wasted in establishing the new broadcasting station in Gisborne, machinery for which was now in the Dominion. In this connection Mr. Fraser paid a warm compliment to Mr. P. R. Stevens, of station 2ZM, for the manner in which he had used his station to assist civic and county authorities during the flood crisis. The response to the crisis in all directions had been worthy of the utmost praise, he said, and revealed that British spirit which animated all good New Zealanders. ‘‘lf anything would induce me and my colleagues to come in with Government assistance, it would be the fact that the people of this district helped themselves and their neighbours. ’ he said. Big Engineering Job Regarding the railway to the north, he said that everyone would agree that it was a big engineering job. If it had been an easy job it would have been done long ago. It seemed to him that the first necessity was a good highways link. Mr. Fraser intimated that the earlier proposal to use large transporters to convey wagon-bodies between ruilheads had been found impracticable on investigation. He had personally thought a good deal of the idea, he said, but investigation had shown it to be out of the question. “The supply of men, materials and tools for a big job like your northern railway link is strictly limited today,’’ Mr. Fraser added. “If you had a choice of what are the most urgent works I think the majority of you would say that improvement of the highways, the restoration of your aerodrome, the consolidation of your existing railway link, and removal of disabilities resulting from the Hood should come first.’’