PUBLIC WORKS ALLOCATIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIII, Issue 3074, 2 November 1929, Page 4

PUBLIC WORKS ALLOCATIONS.

POSITION OF ISOLATED SETTLERS.

PROPER ACCESS NECESSARY.

When discussing the Public Works Statement in the House, Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Waitomo) commented as follows on the allocations and the position of the settler in connection with the policy of the Main Highways Board: — "I note with pleasure his reference to the outback-roads and the ' question of giving access to those people who have been in the wilder- * ness far too long. I speak, of course, for the people of one of the develop-? ing areas where settlers have for the last 16, 18 and 20 years been left without reasonable access. I notice the allocation was increased from £50,000 to £75,000. I would like to see the allocation extended very considerably and would put to the Minister the case of the developing counties. We are limited, say, to a £6OOO grant per year. Unfortunately, anything outstanding from the previous year comes into our estimate for the year, and we find one of the well-known counties has for the current year to • work on a sum of about £2563 for new " work. Seeing that we have about < £36000 of urgent work in sight, it is not very helpful or hopeful to these people, who have been out on these ; roads for so long. "The question arises: Where are we i to get the extra funds for the outlying roads? And one naturally looks - towards the highways funds. These i are growing apace. A few years ago ; they amounted to only a couple of I hundred thousand pounds, jnoW they • amount roughly to one and a-half • millions. The time has arrived when . portion of this money should be dei finitely and unreservedly allocated j for the development of the backcountry roads. The point arises that this is money found by the motorists. But who are the motorists to-day? I think that practically everybody in ' a rural district is a motorist. If the J people have not a car themselves, motor transport is used to take their [ goods to and from the farm, and ! that really they are heavy contributors to this huge fund. 1 "With regard to this highway fund, I wish to say once more that I think | the spirit of the Act was to give allweather roads from centre to centre, 1 and in doing this a service was done 1 to everybody. I should like to see more money spent out on the farback main arterial roads and not quite so much near the big centres ; of population. The people of the city have conveniences galore, and we in the back country lack aU of those things which make life worth while. I would mention particularly two works in connection with which we have had trouble. On one of the roads —I think it is the Awaroa-Mahoe road—the Minister kindly gave the people a £4OO free grant and a £2OO , grant, £1 for £l. They were elated. But, unfortunately, when they go to their county offices they are told that the allocation for this year and possibly next year and the year after has gone, so that those people, who have been there 26 years already, must use their abomination of a road for the next ten years. Another example is the Kahuwera-Tikitiki-Mapara roading proposal. The settlers have been there for 22 years. The grant has been made to them, but unfortunately we again meet this trouble of the allocation. The county cannot take advantage of the money granted. Under present conditions the settlers may expect to get this road metalled in about three or four years, and I consider that it is about 15 years overdue. So far as the maintenance of the roads is concerned, I would like to voice this information that we very much appreciate the benefits that have been brought to us uy this main highways scheme. We expected, however, that our expenditure would be decreased by the extra moneys obtained from the Main Highways Board, but we* are finding that our expenditure is increasing much more rapidly than was ever anticipated. In fact, one county has indicated that it has no alternative but to increase its general rates. I would like to assure the Minister that I appreciate very much the work that has been done for the people of my district. I do think, however, that steps should be taken, and taken at once, to ensure a larger allocation for the people out;back who are without adequate roading facilities. When one looks into the question of the amount of money spent in developing, say, the Hauraki Plains, and when' one realises that the value of the produce from that area in one and ahalf years is equal to the total cost of the work, one must realise that that money has been well spent. The , same thing applies with respect to"" backblock roads. If money is spent on the roads in the back country districts the value of the additional amount of produce will, each year, equal the initial outlay involved in providing the roads."