THE “UNDER DOG.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 29 October 1924, Page 3

THE “UNDER DOG.”

NOT FORGOTTEN. BY HON. J. Gi COATES. YEAR OF PROGRESS. . The following remarks were made in the Public Works Statement issued by the Hon. J. G. Coates. “In last year’s statement I drew attention to the necessity of endeavouring to co-ordinate the expenditure on various transport-ways in order that, after allowing for main-trunk trans-port-ways, both railway and road, all other transport-ways should be complementary to one another, and all leading to support the most economical and efficient, instead ;of, as is often the case, competing with one another. My observations on this subject were made in the hope that it would .receive the thought and consideration of those concerned. Such a state o.f affairs as exists now is perhaps the inevitable result of the driving energy of a people whose efforts have brought about a rate of development which, I believe, has never been equalled in any other country. The multiplicity of local governing bodies is another factor which has contributed in marked degree. It is easy to. be wise after the event. It is not so easy to discover the remedy, but it is never too soon to endeavour to do so.

“As a premise to consideration of the subject it must be realised that the country’s public indebtedness is not merely the public debt of the Government, but that debt plus the debt of eve 17 local body in New Zealand. For every, pound of such debt the people must pay in cue way or another. “While there exist so many authorities vested with borrowing and expending powers it is practically impossible to control the position or co-ordinate the result of such expenditure.

“It is true, that local body loans must have the sanction of the ratepayers, and that the ratepayers’ land is held as security for loan charges. While I do not for one moment suggest that ratepayers’ consent should be. eliminiiiated, I do assert that the ratepayer’s vote is a poor and unsatisfactory system of control. It is common knowledge that a great many loans —I venture to say, a majority—are carried not only by a. minority of ratepayers, but that the total of votes polled for and against the proposal is a minority of the total number of ratepayers concerned. Too often proposals to raise large sums of money are put forward without any real .investigation as to the general economic result of the expenditure and its real advantage to the district concerned. Not infrequently expenditure ‘schemes’ *—and I use the word advisedly—are put forward by enthusiastic ‘boosters,’ who entirely mislead the people, who will have to i pay in the long-run. It is usually asserted that so long as ratepayers are ; prepared to; tax their land the scheme j must he sound, and in any case it is the ratepayers’ concern. It is the ratepayers’ concern if those who v r ote for the loan stay to pay its charges. I have little hesitation in saying that these works are often commenced to give an inflated prospective v-aluo to lands, which, having been created temporarily, the promoters sell out at enhanced value and leave some one else to carry the burden. The promoters of a big expenditure scheme were addressing a meeting of settlers with a view to"obtaining their signatures to a statutory petition. One of the leading settlers assured the promoters that the ] settlers were willing to sign any peti- | tion and vote for any loan in order to j get the railway which would enable < them to sell their land. When I asked I the promoters to produce the data on j which thev assured themselves that the ] -ailwav would be a payable proposition, j they had none, to‘produce. Needless' to ‘sav. that railway is still only a. proposal. If the sum of all charges on land, and the capacity of the land to pay, to any degree approximate one another under-prosperous or even normal conditions, it is obvious that under any condition of adversity the margin of security disappears. Unless there be some means of comprehensive survey and regulation of total public indebtedness to considerations of population, land-values, productiveness, and 1 average value of products, the position will remain unsatisfactory and may even become one of grave concern. I do not suggest that such a position has been reached or anything approaching ! it, but I do suggest- that it is better to - plan now some method of control which I will obviate such a possibility than to bewail when it is too late, I have

sufficient knowledge of the wealth with which nature has endowed this country and faith in its people and their resource to believe that it can bear with comfort a considerably greater indebtedness; but the money must be spent wisely on a plan which has had the most careful consideration of the factors I have mentioned, and which fits in with a comprehensive scheme of de-velopment-work. What we cannot afford is piecemeal, ill-considered expenditure dictated by local ambitions and without reference to what work is being planned or under way in the next watertight compartment. The Main Highways Act is the first direct legislative step in the direction I have indicated. Instead of each county working independently, the District Highways Council considers reading from the point of view of best serving the interests of a. number of grouped counties, while- the Highways Board is enabled to co-ordinate the work of groups. But this measure of control operates only in regard to one avenue of expenditure—namely, roadwork—and that only on roads which are declared main highways. There still remain all other roads.

“I have, great hopes, when once this scheme is in full operation, and its benefits realised, that it will result in amalgamation of many counties, even perhaps to extent of amalgamation of all counties within the vaYious groups. By this means it will be .possible to vastly improve the standard of staff efficiency and organisation, and that must-surely result in better and cheaper work on a more comprehensive plan. “I believe it to be an urgent measure of local-government reform that we should reduce the total ; number of local governing bodies which exist within one another’s boundaries, overlap, and to a considerable extent duplicate one another’s work. As an indication of this necessity I have but to point to the fact that w-e have •one hundred and eighteen Boroughs and Cities, seventvoner Town Boards, one hundred and twenty-nine Counties, thirty-five Road Boards, fifty-nine Drainage Boards, and forty-nine River Boards, all with their separate staffs, plant, .and overhead charges.

It is obvious that a very considerable percentage of these bodies could be done without and their work absorbed by the remaining local authorities.

There arc also some thirty-nine Harbour Beards in existence constituted as such by special legislation, and. in addition, there are fourteen other harbours ill respect of which the local authority is delegated with and carries out the powers and functions of a Harbour Board. Even some of the specially constituted Harbour Boards could have carried on satisfactorily under the administration of an existing local authority. Possibly the time has not yet arrived for the organisation of a Local Government Board, but it does seem to me that we should take into, early consideration the creation of a plan whereby no local authority may proceed with the raising of a loan until the proposal has been first submitted to ex- 1 pert.s for investigation, in order to ascertain whether (a) the work proposed is sound from an- engineering point of view ; (b) it is instilled at the cost estimated. baling regard to existing services ; (c) it is economically'sound, having regard to its value to the district concerned and the capaeitv of the district to pay for it: and (d) (if applicable! it fits in and forms part- of a comprehensive plan of relative works. Assuming all these factors to be answered by the expert investigators in the affirmative, and the raising of the loan concurred in by the Treasury, who j would maintain a record of all public j loan indebtedness, actual, and prospectj ive, the way would then b. e clear for the local body to submit the issue to the ratepayers, who would have an j assurance which they do not have now. I I liavo, assisted by the officers of the j Department, endeavoured to sr> direct j the forces under my control and the expenditure of moneys appropriated by Parliament to obtain twenty shillings worth oi result for every pound spent. I have to, the best of liiv judgment carried out the works which .Twill return the best results in aiding general Dominion prosperity and in the’improvement of the conditions and pro-ducing-nowers of those who are not so favourably situated as those of our citixens who carry on their activities within easy reach of the well-established markets or lines of communication. Confidently 1 look forward to a year of satisfactory progress, during which 1 will again ho- guided in my administration by a determination to do. all that [ is possible to produce the greatest good for the greatest number, while at the same time not forgetting the “under 'dog.”