AUCKLAND RELIEF LOAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22019, 31 July 1933, Page 8

AUCKLAND RELIEF LOAN

CHARGES AGAINST BOARD MINISTER DENIES ALLEGATIONS (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 29. Referring to the criticism by the Mayor of Auckland (Mr G. W. Hutchison') of the local Government Loans Board, the Minister of Finance (Mr J. G. Coates) denies that any instructions came from him regarding the application and states that he has no control over the acts and deliberations of the board. Regarding the statement that the secretary of the Treasury, as chairman of the board, apparently did not wont anybody to go on the money market in competition with 'the Government’s over the counter sales at 3J per cent., Mi Coates said that such an _ assumption was quite wrong. He was informed by the chairman of the board that such a consideration had obviously no connection with the board’s decision as the loan had actually been sanctioned. Mr Coates added that the inquiries which he had made regarding the Auckland City Council’s application indicated that the" board in declining to sanction the loan without a poll of the ratepayers was affirming the principle it had long held that comprehensive proposals should be proceeded with in a normal manner under the Local Government Loans Act, 1926. This view coincided with the Government’s views, as witness the recent intimation that the Local Authorities Empowering (Relief of Unemployment) Act would be allowed to expire on July 31. It is understod locally that most of the works covered by the Auckland application are works which would be undertaken in the normal course of city development, and it is stated that this was no doubt taken into consideration by the board in declining to sanction the loan as being for the relief of unemployment. It is further pointed out that the board comprises seven members — three officers of the public service and four outside members representative of local body interests.