NEW POST OFFICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21538, 9 January 1932, Page 10

NEW POST OFFICE

SUSPENSION OF CONSTRUCTION FAR REACHING CONSEQUENCES GOVERNMENT’S ACTION CRITICISED The announcement by the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) on the eve of the date for the closing of tenders that it has been decided to abandon for the present the construction of Dunedin s new Post Office, has caused indignation among the local builders. Coming at a time when activity in the trade had been reduced practically to a minimum, when masterbuilders and men alike had hoped that the securing of the contract would have gone a long way towards brightening the position, the decision will have the effect of intensifying various phases of the depression as they affect tins First and foremost the community will have to face the loss occasioned by the fact that a sum of from £200,000 to £300,000, which would have been circulated during the next three years, when such a stimulus to business was most needed, will now remain “frozen. 1 .The local Unemployment Committee will have to provide work for from 150 to 200 men who would otherwise have found_ employment in connection with the_ nob, ana the various trades associated with it, and the confidence of business people will have been so affected by the decision that for some considerable time there will he little prospect of any building ot importance being proceeded with in tne In conversation with a Daily Times reporter yesterday representatives of three focal firms which had intended forwarding tenders for the contract to-day put forward a number of reasons why in their opinion the Government bad blundered. . , V . , In the first instance it may be stated that all were unanimous that there was no possibility, of the Post Office being erected within the estimated cost ot £200,000. The specifications which had been drawn up, they stated, provided for a type of building the cost of which would go very close to £300,000. In this particular alone the policy of the Government was severely criticised, as it was considered that the fittings and finishings of the building, both inside and out, were much more elaborate and costly then were justified by the uses for which it was. intended. The plans provide for the facing of the first two storeys with marble, while above that stone imported from Auckland is to be used. In addition, a very large amount of bronze will be used in facing the front of the building, the coat of arms alone costing between £SOO and £7OO. While this will undoubtedly add greatly to the appearance of the Post Office when completed, making it easily the most ornate building in Dunedin, it was claimed that, having regard to its purpose and to the financial state of the country, even when the specifications were prepared, the Government architects had* planned too elaborately. It was stated that the local tenderers would have no difficulty in reducing their estimates by £50,000 if the plans were recast in such a manner as to provide for a building wbicb, while in every way as serviceable as that at present designed and in its main essentials unaltered, would be deprived of its unnecessary and extravagant ornamentation. If the alternative lay between no post office at all for some time to come or one plainer than originally intended, it was felt that the people of Dunedin would have no hesitation in choosing the latter. What the erection of the Post Oifice at the present time would mean, not alone to the building trade, but to the community as a whole, may be gauged from the fact that it ih estimated that the amount which would be spent in wages throughout the country on work directly in connection with it would be not less than £150,000. In Dunedin alone 200 men who are now without regular employment, and many of whom are a charge upon the State, would be employed for a period ranging up to three years. At a time when the funds of the Government are being drawn upon heavily to provide work for the unemployed, much of which is of an unproductive nature, it would seem that money spent upon Dunedin’s Post Oifice might well be looked upon as being in some measure a form of local unemployment relief. As the greater part of the material to be used must be of New Zealand origin, the work would be spread throughout the country, and as far afield as Auckland the beneficial effects of proceeding with the job would be felt. Nor would the employment thus provided be confined to skilled labour, more than 50 per cent, of the work involved being of a type which would fall to non-tradesmen. In-so-far as tradesmen are concerned, the master builders stated that they knew of a number of men who, although out of work, had refrained from seeking relief in the hope that the commencement of the. Post Office would again provide them with employment. These men would now almost certainly be compelled to seek aid from the Unemployment Committee. The effect of the decision to abandon in the meantime the building of the Post Office will be widely felt. In many circles it will be considered that, if the Government, with first-hand information on the financial position, has become so convinced of the folly of spending money on what was regarded up to a few months ago as an urgent need of the city that it has taken this almost unprecedented step of postponing the work on the eve of the tenders being closed, then things must be bad indeed. Had the building of the Post Office been gone ou with, it is practically certain that other building _ contracts would have been let. One builder, indeed, stated that he had submitted a price for alterations to some premises adjacent to the Post Office, but he was certain that the Government's decision would result in the contract being allowed to fall through. The building trade in Dunedin for some time will definitely be “ dead.” Finally it is felt that the Government should have given notification earlier that the job would be abandoned for this year. As it is, the various tenderers have been put to the expense of preparing their estimates, and just when the task had been completed after months of calculation they are informed that a sudden decision of the Government ha s rendered their work useless. Some idea of the expense involved in this connection may be gained from the fact that it is estimated that the total cost of preparing tenders on the part of the three Dunedin builders, together with their sub-contractors and surveyors, will amount to somewhere in the vicinity of £IOOO. Even should the Post Office be gone on with next year, the changed conditions will make it necessary to prepare an entirely new set of costs involving the outlay again of a similar sura, faking into consideration, therefore, the number of tenderers throughout the Dominion, it will be realised that the postponement of the work will cost some thousands of pounds to the builders. Very few of those concerned will forward their tenders by January 12, as ' they will be unwilling to incur the danger «£ bavin" them either made public, or, as one expressed it. “torn to pieces, and the Dunedin contractors at least are quite definite that they will allow the closing date to go by rather than incur this risk. .. .. . „ At a time of crisis in the country s position it may be necessary to adopt unpopular measures in order to keep the national expenditure within reasonable bounds, but it will be generally felt that the action of the Government in tine instance is open to more than passing criticism. MEETING OF BUILDERS.

A. meeting of the builders concerned tva s held yesterday morning to consider the position. After some discussion it tvas decided that the following telegram should be sent to the Prime Minister: “Respectfully suggest that closing o. tenders for Dunedin Post Office be deferred for one mouth to enable position to be fully investigated. Members reluctant to submit tenders in view of your statement that the building would not be proceeded with.” It was also decided to inform the tenderers in other centres of the action of tha Dunedin builders in refusing to submit tenders before the closing day -while the present state of affairs existed.