ROAD SERVICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23885, 12 August 1939, Page 10

ROAD SERVICES

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT “ PETROL TAX FREE ” MR MACKLEY REPLIES TO CRITICISM In a statement ..oecially communicated to the Otago Daily Times from Wellington las: evening, the General Manager of New Zealand Railways (Mr G F Mackley) said he was surprised to see in a Dunedin Press Association message yesterday that Mr James Begg speaking at a meeting of the Otago Provincial Council or the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, stated that the petrol used by the Government road services was tax free. “On many occasions,” Mr Mackley said, “ it has been publicly explained that the Railway Departmen as a commercial undertaking is required to pay the same charges in all respects as those borne by private road operators, and no longer ago than August 16. 1938. in reply to a similar com plaint made in Auckland the Min ister of Railways xplained that the department’s schedule of rates submitted to the Transport Licensing Authority was ralculated on rates which returned a reasonable margin of profit to the department after payment of heavy traffic and other licence fees, petrol tax and exchange as they were paid by private operators ‘ The Minister also said that all these charges were paid by the Railway Depa. tment’s road motor services in the same way as they were paid by other operators and that the department paid the full appropriate award rates for all road service employees and observed award conditions This information was sent by Press Association to newspapers throughout the Dominion, and it is surprising that Mr Begg should revive a statement which, although made before on several occasions, has been publicly denied by the Minister of Railways and the railways administration “The success of the Railway Department’s operation of road services is apparently acknowledged by Mr Begg. but he is quite wrong in assuming that this is due to the department being treated more favourably than private enterprise. In fact, it can fairly be claimed that in the administration of its road services, the department adheres more strictly to award and licensing conditions than do private operators, many of wljom have ignored the terms of their licences and failed to comply with award conditions. I can only regret that on the wrong information conveyed to it by Mr Begg, the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers Union should have been misled into carrying the motion, that it did carry, which asks for something to be done which has been done by the department for very many vears.” ■