REHABILITATION

Grey River Argus, 20 January 1943, Page 3

REHABILITATION

NEW INDUSTRIES IN N.Z. Claims of Secondary Towns " TIMARU, Jan. 19. - The Timaru Borough Council at a meeting adopted Cr. P. B .Foote’s recommendation for rehabilitation as follows:— (a) That a rehabilitation committee be set up by the council; (b) that the rehabilitation committee select the most suitable works for the approval of the council; (c) that after the council’s preliminary approval, such works be fully investigated; (d) that after the council’s final approval of any works, these should be submitted to the necessary Government authorities; (e) that works for which final approval and finance have been obtained, be carried out in co-opera-tion with the local rehabilitation committee; (f) that expert and other assistance necessary be engaged as soon as possible; (g) that an allocation of £5OO be made to the rehabilitation committee to cover its expenditure on planning; (h) that the public be invited to suggest works of a municipal nature for the committee’s consideration. '

It was decided to set up a rehabilitation committee comprising the Mayor, the Deputy-Mayor, and chairmen of the council’s committees. Mr E. A. S. Killick. Town Clerk, in a memorandum submitted to the meeting, stated: "In order to check the tendency in New Zealand towards an undue increase in the population of the four large centres, at the expense of the secondary towns, some sympathetic treatment of the latter by the Government is necessary. The ideal country would have a number of towns of from 30,000 to 50,000 persons. rather than a few overcrowded cities. The war has shown that for defence purposes it is imperative that the population must not be closely concentrated a/id should be dispersed as evenly as possible throughout the Dominion. Should it be asked what can the Government do, the reply would be that it could follow the lead of England, where industries are permitted to start only in areas selected by the Government. The remedy, to ensure a more equitable distribution of the population, Ties in the hands of the Government, who should select the localities in which industries should start, r/.aking a fair distribution throughout the Dominion. There is very little danger of slums in the smaller towns, but unless a decentralisation policy is followed by the Government, the cities will continue to grow at the expense of th e smaller towns, and the younger generation will, as has happened in the past, have to leave the smaller towns and go to the already overcrowded cities in order to get a chance of obtaining a worthwhile position.” Mr Killick then enumerated the claims of Timaru for the establishment of industries, and said that the town possessed excellent facilities for the distribution of manufactured goods, an equable climate, ample facilities to provide for a much larger population, and immunity from earthquakes. The Timaru district, besides being in the centre of the most productive area for the growing of linen flax, had deposits of valuable clays, and lignite or brown coals. It had also been found suitable for sugarbeet crops. “It would seem desirable that something should be done to arrest the movement of ponulation from the South to the North Island. The census figures seem to show that there is a drift of population awav from Timaru,” said Mr Killick. “Timaru has all the municipal machinery and sufficient unoccupied areas to support a few thousand, more population, which would make all the difference between the state .of comparative stagnation and one of prosperity.” It was decided that copies of the report be circulated to members of ' Parliament representing constituen- ; cies containing secondary towns, with . a view to Parliamentary pressure being brought to bear uoon the Govern- i ment to ensure better distribution of industries throughout the Dominion.