A YEAR OF ACTIVITY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3890, 2 October 1928, Page 16

A YEAR OF ACTIVITY.

RAILWAYS AND HYDROELECTRICITY. PROBLEMS OF MOTOR TRANSPORT. In introducing hie Statement, the Minister says: The preceding year has been one of much activity in the various publicworks, and I again wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the members of my staff for the willing and efficient service they have rendered. Railway construction and hydro-electric development especially have been on a large scale, and much good work has been accomplished. During the year I continued extending my knowledge of the various works in hand by making personal investigations of the progress being made in as many cases as I was able.

The public works now being undertaken must prove to be of much benefit in the development of the country’s natural resources. The extending of hydro-clectri< services t 0... our primary producers, especially 7 in the dairying districts, ami the access to markets given to outlying districts by railway and road construction, all tend to increase the Dominion’s export trade. The prospects of the com ing season are bright, the markets being steady for our chief exports, and it is hoped that the service' given by the Government, both in transport and power, will be availed of to the utmost by the primary producers. During the year the most noteworthyprogress has been evidenced by the completion and handing over to the Working Railways Department of 118 miles 29 chains of railway. There is an opinion in the minds of many people that railways are no longer required, and that further expenditure on them is unwarranted. With this view I do not agree. It is true that many places where a railway would have been the natural means of development in the past can now be developed without the expense of laying down a railway, but where long distances have to be traversed or heavy merchandise moved the railway is still the most economical form of transport, provided, of course, that there is sufficient business to prevent the enterprise being overburdened with capital charges. Speaking of capital charges, 1 do not know whether "honourable members have ever looked into the question of the capital charges in connection with motor transport; but, if so, they will have found that the capital invested in motor transport, including the track on which it is operated, in Ne-w Zealand is greater than that invested in the railways, the roads being, of course, an essential part of motor transport. If rolling stock and running expenses alone are taken, the cost of motor transport is several times that of railways, while I do not think anyone would be found who would argue that even double the motor transport which we have in the country could do anything like the yyork which is being done by. the railways at present. There are localities which in order that they may be developed to their fullest must be provided with cheap transport, particularly in the ease of manures, and if a method of cheaply transporting fertilisers is not provided, then without doubt the districts requiring such facilities will never be developed. It is, of course, necessary to be reasonably assured that when the development has been brought about there will then be sufficient business to justify the losses in the early stages.

Making a short review of the railways actually under construction, the only railway in the South Island on which at present it is proposed to proceed vigorously is the connection between the Westport section of railway and the Midland railway system at Inangahua Junction, by which connection the rich bituminous coalfields of the Buller district will be brought in touch with the greater part of the South Island by direct rail connection. When that connection is well under way, a forward movement to connect with the Midland system can be taken up. At the present time the railway works in the North Island are proceeding in accordance with a programme,’ but indications point to the possibility of releasing a cernumber of men and money fairly soon, and immediately it becomes possible, without unduly inflating the railway vote, more money can be devoted to this end.

A total vote of £984,000 is proposed for railway construction, compared with £1,007,001 last year.

The most noteworthy fact in connectioi with hydro-electric development has been the decision of the Government to proceed with the development of power 01 the Waitaki River, in order to be ready for the time when the increasing demand of the east coast district exceeds th' capacity of Coleridge. What is regarded as the last unit for Lake Coleridge station is being obtained. It would be possible to still increase this station by 7 the diversion of other streams, but it is considered that another station in South Canterbury, dividing the distance between Coleridge and Waipori, best fits in with the general scheme of development. The Government has taken over the Arapuni works z from the contractors. It is expected that the total expenditure this year will be £1,260,000. Road'work, both on ordinary roads and on highways, has been pushed on in an endeavour to absorb a large number of men who were unable to find work in civil avenues of employment, and, though this has resulted in works being undertaken which would not otherwise have been undertaken this year, no work has been done which could be criticised as wasteful. I hoped, when making my last Statement, that it would not have oeen necessary to make such large provision for i lief workers this year as was necessaray last year. Unfortunately, the reverse has been the case.

One of the very extensive activities that has been thrown upon my department during the year has been brought about by the passing of the Local Bodies’ Loans Act. Under that Act it is necessary foi' the board to obtain expert reports on almost all the projects for which local authorities wish to borrow money. This Act was long overdue, md will probably in the future be looked upon as one of the most important Acts ever passed in this country. The provision of a sinking f und is the great feature. From the point of view of the local authorities, one .of the events of paramount importance was the passing of the Motor Spirits Taxation Act of last session, providing, as this new source of revenue aid, a fund from which the construction and maintenance of the principal roads of the Dominion could be financed without further increasing the already severe load which the local authorities ■were carrying in the way of local rates. In considering the question _of road finance, it must not be forgottten that for many years before the motor vehicle was taxed for the upkeep of the roads local authorities and the Government had been forced to spend large and constantly-increasing sums for the upkeep of the roads. To such an extent did this apply'that from 1917 to 1927 more was spent annually per motor car than was received in the wholo<r> -’ i-wl and, as I stated when the Motor Spirits Taxation Bill was before the House, something had to be done to give relief to rates. Naturally, this relief cannot be expected to manifest itself immediately. Since the highways system was inaugurated, local authorities have been spending an undue proportion of their rates on the main highways, and as a result their less important roads had fallen into a bad state of repair, and it will take some time for this leeway to be made up. I wish it to be clearly understood that the whole of the money derived from the motor spirits taxation was not intended for further road improvement, but a considerable proportion of it was intended for, and must be devoted to, the relief of the county ratepayers

The number of motor vehicles in New Zealand has risen at a phenomenal rate, and the result is a very keen competition between the owners, resulting in extremely low freights—low from the point of view of. motft? transport—being charged. The result of the cheap freights quoted in some cases has been to create an impression in the minds of the public that motor transport is more economical than railway transport. This, however, is an entire fallacy. A return of 3d a ton mile on the average on the goods hauled on the railways would enable them to make a handsome profit, but the average figures from over 100 U vehicles operating in New Zealand seem to show that Is 6d. a ton mile is nearer their cost. Last year the cost of upkeep of the roads of New Zealand approached the £3,000,000 mark, an enormous increase on what was necessary before the motor became a serious user of the roads. Towards this the motor vehicle contributed less than £ 1,000,000 ( and when converted into cost per motor vehicle per year the maintenance expenditure amounts to £lB, without making any

_ .owance for the interest and fixed iiarges on capital expenditure, and the above average cost is obtained by regarding the motor bicycles (numbering nearly 34,000) as motor vehicles. If the latter were ignored, and only the motor cars aud commercial vehicles taken into account, the figure would be in the vicinity of £23. Looking at the matter broadly from the point of view of the country as a whole, it is undoubtedly uneconomical to transport goods by road which can be transported by railway, unless the circumstances are exceptional. If the railway’s are placed in the position that as a result of their higher-tariffed goods being carried by another agency they are unable to be self-supporting, then, naturally, the Dominion cannot expect the overseas investors to supply loan money for any further railway development, either in the wav of extensions, improvement of present lines, electrification, or other works, to increase and cheapen facilities. There is no doubt that there is a legitimate field for the motor vehicle, particularly the commercial motor vehicle, but in this matter there is something more to be considered than the price at which some lorry owner will agree to carry/goods from the ware house to a customer up the country. In connection with roading, I propose this year to provide the sum of £9OB 500, an increase of £60,250 on last year; while the Main Highways Board proposes a vote of £940,000 for construction, compared with £675,000 last year, and £ 2Z?’2 OO £or maintenance, compared with £<25,000 last year. The total net expenditure under ail votes and accounts appearing on the Public Works Estimates for the financial year ended March 31, 1928, was £7,061,201. Of this sum £3,200,664 was expended out of general purposes account, and the balance, £3.860,537, out of special accounts.