ROAD TRANSPORT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23880, 3 February 1941, Page 9

ROAD TRANSPORT

SOCIALISATION FEARED MR. S. G. HOLLAND'S VIEW INTENTIONS OF GOVERNMENT [by telegraph —press association] NEW PLYMOUTH, Saturday "It is amusing to read of Mr. Semple's declaration that it is not the intention of the Government to socialise the transport industry, and that socialisation was never even contemplated by the Government," said Mr. S. G. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, to-day. "Mr. Semple appears conveniently to have overlooked the objective of the Labour Party, which is socialisation of the means of production, distribution (which includes transport) and exchange. "Mr. Semple says the only thing he is against is cannibalistic competition 011 roads," continued Mr. Holland. "I can think of 110 better example than the past gobbling up of private-owned transport services by the Railway Department. 1 wonder if Mr. Semple would tell us how many motor vehicles previously operated by private enterprise have been absorbed by the State in the last five years. "I wonder if the public could be told (1) How many privately-owned services have gone off the road since 1935? (2) How many State-owned and operated services have gone off the road in the same period? (3) How many new pri-vately-owned services and how many State-owned services have come on to the road during the same five years? "It is all very well to talk about conserving petrol as a war measure," continued Mr. Holland, "but the important thing to remember is that practically all the socialising that has taken place happened before the war broke out. "It would give some indication of the extent to which State operation of transport has grown if the Minister wouki inform the public of the quantity of petrol actually used by the State for the years 1935 to 1910. All we want is to see reasonable co-ordination, but the public knows that when a reduction in 1 services takes place it is invariably the privately-owned service that goes and not the State service. "It is also significant that where privately-owned road services are in competition with sea-borne trade they are left alone, but when in conjunction with the State-owned railways they are wiped out."