“WASTE OF MONEY”

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXV, Issue 12962, 10 September 1936, Page 7

“WASTE OF MONEY”

PLANT LEFT TO ROT AND RUST. am SEMPLE AND THE RAILWAY WORKS. “Look what we have done dor the railways,” air Semple said at an election meeting at Epsom. “We have started works, that were stopped by the last Government. Tlie Railways Board lifts ‘taken the count’ and everything with the railways is now going along nicely. No less than £3,500,000 was spent on tho NapicrGisborne line and the board stopped work on it. The people will be- paying interest on that money for years to come. When this -work was -stopped there was a wealth of material left to rot and rust. Why, as much as £50,000 worth of, fabricated steel which was to have been used for the railway viaduct over the Mohaka river was left on the sides of the river. It cost £IOOO to paint it every time they wanted to protect it from rusting. This steel has been sold g'Wlio to, Bob, to Japan?” asked someone in the back of the ball. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Mr Semple. Mr Semple referred to the waste of money expended on what lie called “Mr Coates’ balloon loop up North.’ - “T have seen that loop,” said the Minister, “and when you go over it you don’t know whether you are going or coming.” (Laughter.) “When I took over tlie control of the Public Works they had nothing biit long-handled shovels and wheelbarrows. There were no mechanised implements at.all. asked the engineers where they were, and they re plied that the previous Government had told them to sell them!”