THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1950 FREIGHT TO PAEROA

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 60, Issue 4309, 26 July 1950, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1950 FREIGHT TO PAEROA

i , The recent decision of Mr Justice Archer of the Transport Appeal Authority that, in the interests of'orderly and co-ordin-ated transport, the Northern Road Transport Ltd., of Paeroa shall carry goods and produce from Paeroa and Ngatea to Auckland but that the vehicle used shall' he prohibited from, bringing, on the return* journey to Paeroa, any goods at ajl and must return i empty, should awaken the public to the degree of economic insanity to . which this country is now committed. This ludicrous decision is just typical of many decisions which have been made and will continue to be made if we follow the policy laid down by the Transport Department and its Minister, which is that State capital invested in transport must be protected against competition. That policy is shockingly bad economics and if persisted in will do much to keep the cost of liy* ing rising, thereby tending to lower living standards. The decision of Mr Justice Archer was given as the result

of an appeal from the New Zealand Government Railways which found itself unable to compete against the transport company which has been carrying l goods to Paeroa for £l/17/6 a .ton delivered,into the shops and stores as against £2/7/- on railway trucks, Paeroa, plus a further 5/- a ton cartage from the rail to the business premises. In other words' private enterprise can save the people of Paeroa and district almost 15/- per ton on goodsi delivered into the town l . What will happen when, the private operators are eliminated can be gleaned when it is considered that the freight from Auckland to Hamilton (89 miles), where competition is restricted, is £3/4/9 per ton as against £l/17/6 charged by private en-) terprise over the same distance of 80 miles from Aucldand to Paeroa. It is not difficult to foresee what must 1 inevitably happen if we continue to pursue policies which are hopelessly false from the point of view of economics. The very essence of all progress and efficiency in industry which inseparably link-' ed with the raising of the standard of living is that all capital whether State or private must be subjected to v the / sharpest competition for only by such method* can there be secured the progress sive lowering of costs Which is a precondition of all progress. We wonder why. the cost of living keeps rising against us and the answer is that it must continue to rise if we are determined to adopt ideas are quite crazy when tested by the logic of economics. * . '

Apparently the only ideas we possess today are those'we have been taught by , the socialist planners. The needs* of the masses of the people are still very great and they must still' desire to have their material Condition raised. Surely if the masses clearly understood would not support a policy which aims at the protection of invested capital and is not concerned with the raising of living standards? It is more than likely that • if the real issues were put squarely before them they would favour the abolition of Mr Justice Archer, the Appeal-Author-* ity and all other licensing authorities which are so busily engaged in preventing people front rendering service to their fellow citizens.