UNPRODUCTIVE WORKS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22630, 23 July 1935, Page 5

UNPRODUCTIVE WORKS

“PITIFUL WASTE OF MONEY” ST. KILDA COUNCIL DISCUSSION When a letter from the Commissioner of Unemployment at Wellington in connection with the employment of relief workers was read at last night’s meeting of the St. Kilda Borough Council, some straight speaking was indulged in by several councillors. In reply to the council’s letter in regard to a limited number of relief workers being employed by the council under No. 5 scheme, the Commissioner of Unemployment wrote as follows: — In order that the Unemployment Board might be in a position to determine if the work which the council was contemplating was suitable for the placement of scheme No. 5 labour, the commissioner would be pleased if the council would submit full particulars of the work proposed to be carried out. .Cr N. D. Anderson read a short report, in which be stated that the Unemployment Board had spent £38,000, subsidised by the council to the extent of £2OOO, for relief work in the borough during the past four years. The root of the whole trouble rested with the Unemployment Board. Alany thousands of pounds had simply been frittered away on unproductive work in the borough. If the board had permitted the council to employ men on productive works, they would have something to show for their money, instead of nothing. To realise that £40,000 had been spent on such unproductive works was more than scandalous. The whole position of unemployed labour should be thoroughly gone into, and he moved that the council make such a recommendation to the Unemployment Board. ■ In seconding the motion Cr J. H. Hinton said it was a pitiful state of affairs. During the last five years millions of pounds had been spent_ on unproductive works in the Dominion, only a very small portion of this work being productive. Such a waste of the people’s money was pitiful, and no language was strong enough to condemn such waste of money. It was most pitiful to know that such enormous sums of the ratepayers’ money had been spent in such a manner.

Cr A. D. Edgar said there was ample work of a productive nature in and around Dunedin, and mentioned the urgent need for the duplication of the railway line from St. Leonards to Port Chalmers.

Cr Anderson’s motion was carried