MAIN HIGHWAYS

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 251, 18 September 1930, Page 4

MAIN HIGHWAYS

KIWITEA COUNTY ESTIMATES. HEAVY REDUCTION. “This is rather a bombshell from the Highways Board,” stated the clerk (Mr W. Hesseltine) at the monthly meeting of the Kiwitea County Council yesterday,, in .placing before the council notification of the main highway maintenance estimates allocated to the county which showed a reduction of £2046 on the council’s application for three sections of main highways in the county. Continuing, the clerk went on to itemise the allocations, stating that , the application for maintenance amounting to £3794 on the main highway from Awahuri to Mangaweka, via Kimbolton Road, had been cut down to £2700; the Kimbol-ton-Apiti Highway from £392 to £300; and the Feilding-Hunterville highway from £1760 to £9OO. “On these figures I cannot see how our work is to be carried out, and. what is more, it has taken the Main Highways Board five months to notify us, Mr Hesseltine added.

Cr. W. Hair: What is the difference compared with last year’s figures? The clerk: In 1929 we received £3562 from the Highways Board which, with the sum we provided, made a total of £5293 expended on the highwavs. This year we received £4040 from the board which, with oHr contribution, made a total of £6060, while for the coming year’s work we have been cut down to about a total expenditure of £3900.

Cr. Hair; That means that they have just about cut our amount. in half. The chairman (Cr. L. T. McLean): It is well down. Cr. Hair: Is there no way of getting the matter adjusted? The Oroua County Council, 1 see, were only cut down a few hundreds. We cannot carry on like thus. We have started a dot of our work and we cannot very well 1 stop it. The chairman: It is a serious matter for us. They were only maintenance estimates we put forward, and before we submitted them we cut them down by £2OOO which was as low as possible to allow us to keep the roads jn good repair. Now on top of that we are cut down another £2OOO. It is quite impossible to keep the roads in decent repair on this amount, and we are not spending excessively by any means. As far as we are concerned, it is quite impossible for us to carry on. At the present time nearly all of this money is spent; we have had a good season and have been getting on well with our work, and this is the first indication we have had that we are going to be “cut down.” We have expended £3900 and it means that we have got to carry on without further means.

Cr. J. H. Williamson: Were our estimates approved ? The chairman: Yes, by the District Council.

The county clerk then quoted the amounts available for expenditure on the various highways as follow: Kimbolton-M'angaweka. £162; Hunterville highway, £400; Kimbolton-Apiti, £200; Waituna-Livingstone, £l5O. SERIOUS POSITION. The chairman: It is ridiculous to five us only £4OO on the Cheltenhamlangaweka Road. It in a serious position. The money will not be sufficient to pay the surfacemen. Cr. Williamson : The only thing to do is to cease work. Cr Hair': The position is serious and we cannof altogether blame the Highwavs Board, and I do not know if it affects other counties as it does us.' It emanates from the manner in which the' Government has juggled with the Main Highways Board finance. The action of the Government has left the board with £116,000 less, and the position is most unjust. Before the Prime Minister left New Zealand he said in the House that the extra taxation on petrol was to be expended on back blocks roads, and we are not getting the help promised. Surely it would be better for the Government to pav this money on the upkeep of roads instead of relieving unemployment on unnecessary work. Witli us we have to stop work and throw a lot of men out of work so that, instead of helping to relieve unemployment, the Government is going to accentuate it. The only thing I have got against the Highways Bourd is that it has taken it five months to notify us of the allocations we were getting, and I defy

any man to do satisfactory work under these conditions.

The chairman: Our work is mostly labour and we will have to put men off. Cr. Hair: It is not as if we had been wasting money. Anybody could look through our books and they could not accuse us of squandering money. Cr. D. L. Younger: It seems to me that the position we find ourselves in shows that the Government has broken f.aith with the local bodies, and 1 think we should enter an emphatic protest. The chairman: I think we should npopint a deputation to interview the Main Highways 'Board and point out the position we are in. Cr. Hair: Unfortunately, the board is in the same position as we are through the action of the Government. Something must be done, or we will have to send word to tire board that we will have to “sack” every man we have. Crs. Shaw and Stack also added their protest, following which it was decided that the matter of the reduction of the main highways. estimates he left in the hands of the chairman and' the county clerk to place the council’s position before the Main Highways Board. MEN TO BE DISMISSED. Later in ,jig& meeting during the discussion .* overseer’s report, Cr. 'Williamson advocated the stopping of work to meet the position pending the chairman’s interview with the board. The speaker did not think the council would get a very much larger advance from the board, or any at all, and he considered it unwise to go on doing road work when the council had already spent its quota from the board. Cr. Hair said he was against dismissing good men and the chairman had similar views, but both recognised that the position would have to be met.

It was stated that, failing the forthcoming of more money from the board, the council would only be able to keep on sufficient men to grade the roads. In the meantime the chairman thought the county overseer would have to inform the casual employees that their services would perhaps be dispensed with in a week while the permanent men could be utilised to the best advantage. It was finallv decided, on the motion of Crs. Williamson and Brown, that pending the result of the interview with the Highways Board, all casual labour be dispensed with.

This will mean the dismissal of seven of the council’s employees.