RAILWAYS POLICY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20257, 17 May 1929, Page 10

RAILWAYS POLICY.

Having declared its conviction that the control of railways—presumably both construction and management—should be dissociated from politics, the council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce proposes to refer the matter to the Prime Minister when he visits Auckland. It is perfectly clear that the United Government has not the slightest intention of surrendering control of the railways, using the phrase with all its political implications. Under the previous Administration, a policy was established of thorough invests gation by several departments of any proposal to commence a new railway, and, while Parliamentary and Ministerial direction were maintained, the management of the working railways was reorganised on a basis of commercial practice. The reform may not have been complete, but a great deal was done toward the elimination of political influence and patronage. As part of the radical alterations which the present Government has undertaken to make, Sir Joseph Ward is evidently proceeding to clear away that policy. Whether his reasons are politics or business, he has determined to construct two railways in the South Island; that is the first plank in his policy. At one time he claimed that these were business propositions that would not cost a penny of taxation, but that point is no longer emphasised. He was recently asked in Christchurch whether he thought a line that had no possibility of paying should be constructed. His reply was that the policy of the Government is to prosecute only main lines which were to traverse ► long distances —it would not build any further short distance lines. Yet that is not a comprehensive exposition, since the Government has stopped the Taupo railway, over 50 miles extension of the main line system, and started the Gisborne line of about 30 miles. In the former case, the element of distance was disregarded, and the reason given that the railway would not pay. In the latter case, both distance and prospective loss were ignored; the case for the South Island projects is based entirely on length of railway, and questions of profits, or the absence of them, brushed aside. The future policy in regard to management has not been fully disclosed, but it is evidently Sir Joseph Ward's intention to abolish the principle of requiring the railways to strive to pay interest on capital invested. He has condemned the present system of separate accounts which exactly disclose the losses, and manifestly prefers the old method of concealing the deficits and collecting enough from the taxpayers to cover them. These conclusions are merely a resume of statements made by Sir Joseph Ward. If they are incorrect, the meeting with the Chamber of Commerce will afford the Prime Minister an opportunity to define his policy so precisely that further misunderstanding will be avoided.