THE TRANSPORT BILL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20923, 13 July 1931, Page 11

THE TRANSPORT BILL.

CRITICISM AT MATAMATA. SCHEME OF CENTRAL CONTROL. machinery clauses opposed. [from our own CORRESPONDENT.] ■ , MATAMATA, Saturday. Criticism of the machinery clauses of tlie Iransport Bill was expressed by the Matamata County Council at its meeting this week.

The engineer, Mr. M. E. Fitzgerald, leported that the licensing of road services was long overdue, but the regulations provided for the constitution of various licensing boaids and appeal boards appointed by the Minister, which meant that local authorities would De over-ruled. The whole tendency of the Act was to centralise everything in Wellington and take such matters as the classification of roads out of the hands of local bodies and the Main Highways Board.

ihe chairman, Mr. J. W. Anderson (lirau) said they had been looking forward for a long time for a bill which would deal with all transport and coordinate it in the interests of the country, but the present bill, in his opinion, was very far from being in the interests of the Dominion.

Mr. K. S. Cox (Tohoroa) considered the bill would cost the county thousands of pounds and upset all its classifications The idea of the bill was right, but the machinery clauses upset everything. It was unanimously decided to adopt the recommndation of the Finance and Works Committee that telegrams be sent to the Prime Minister, the leaders of the Reform and Labour Parties, and tlu» chairman of the Counties' Association, strongly condemning the machinery clauses of the Transport Bill, "which placed power in the hands of small bodies appointed by the Transport Department and gave the railways no representation, and, in fact, placed roads under political control."