PORT EXPANSION PLANS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22726, 12 May 1937, Page 10

PORT EXPANSION PLANS

The programme of port expansion at an estimated cost df £1,190,000, as placed before the Harbour Board by the chairman, Mr. C. G. Macindoe, makes what appears to be reasonable and necessary provision against future requirements. Mr. Macindoe has, however, done no more than outline proposals. No doubt a much closer scrutiny of the present and prospective position will be undertaken by the board before it proceeds to adopt the proposals in part or in whole, and to seek legislative authority for the raising of loans. It will need to be satisfied that the existing berthage is being fully and efficiently used ans that extensions cannot therefore be avoided. It must also consider deeply what the future may hold for the port in the light of current tendencies, such as stationary populations and the world-wide cult of economic nationalism, and particularly the Jatter'a effect on overseas trade. Britain is seeking to produce more at home and import less, while New Zealand seeks and may be forced to import fewer manufactures and make more of her own requirements. These should be factors taken into account in determining the board's future policy. It should proceed not timidly but certainly with prudence. In borrowing over a million pounds, it must be satisfied that the port can carry the new and heavy liability. For the export wharf alone, Mr. Macindoe sets down the capital charges at £26,000 annually. He asserts that .the revenue to pay for the works will be derived from the increased production of the port's area which "automatically increases" trade and the board's receipts. The question the board should seriously ask is whether the assumption of automatic increase can he accepted without careful calculation of modern trends. The "inevitability of progress" is no longer an article of general belief. But if after thorough soundings, sound justification is found for the programme, the board's constituents will encourage it to proceed at the pace indicated by the result of its investigations.