PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12586, 17 October 1911, Page 9

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

HOW FINANCES STAND

ROADS AND BRIDGES

(Official message.)

; WELLINGTON, last night. The Public Works Statement was delivered m tho House this evening by the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister of Public Works, who stated : — Mi 1 ' Speaker, — In submitting tho annual statement of the operations pf the Public Works Department and the pro-, posals for the current year, I may congratulate the House on the substantial progress made with our public works during last year. TOTAL EXPENDITURE. The total expenditure, though not quite equal to that of the previous year, was still very satisfactory, being no less than , £2,190,954, namely, under the Public Works Fund and separate accounts £2,109,851, and under the Consolidated Fund £81,103. An analytical table is given, and then the Statement proceeds— WAYS AND MEANS. At! 31st March, 1910, the available ways and means for public 'works purposes were £312^366, and further funds were . received as under : Under the Loans Act of 1909 £350,000, under the Aid to Public Works and Lands Settlement Act, 1910 £156,835, under the Aew .Zealand Loans Act, 1903, £66,380 transfer from Consolidated Fund £800.CCO, miscellflheou? . receipts £6306, 'inait-' ing a giSjsr'tb'tjti'of £3,103,614. ' ' The ordinary expenditure of the year amounted to £1,892,851 ; debentures redeemed £225, charges and expenditure m respect of raising loans £66,367 other] charges £4126; thus bringing the total! disbursements up to £1,963,569, and leaving a credit balance at the' end of t|ie year of £1,140,045. For the currejiifc year it is proposed to provide additional funds as under: Balance of 1910 j loan £191,650. proposed ,. loan of 1911 £1J500,000, under the Aid to Water Power ' Works = Act. 1910, £500,000. transfer from Consolidated Fund £500,C00, special' provision for irrigation tf6rks (section 20) Appropriation Act, ; 1910; £110,000. The above with the brought forward gives a gross; total of £3,921,695. : ' The estimated expenditure for public works for the current year (excluding separate accounts having their own ways, and means) amounts to £2,921,000, leaving an estimated baJance of £1,0C0,---695 to be carried forward- to next year . PUBLIC BUJiLDINGS. Thp total expenditure on public buildings ' last year amounted to £432, 750, being -it,' considerable' increase on that of.j the previous year. This was owing toj the great expansion of business throughout.^ the' Dominion. For "the current year the following appropriations are proposed : ' -New buildings (Public Works ' Fund) £449,000, maintenance Avorks (consolidated fund) £53,977, maintenance works (schools) £901300, total £593,277. Provision is made for continuing ■ work on the ( Chrisl/church and Invercargill departmental buildings, for new Government buildings at Hamilton, Gisborne, New Plymouth, and Maaterton, .for the completion of the Government buildings at 'Jfdkitika, for new offices f6r the Stamps and Native Departments m Wellington, for making a commencement .with the new Parliament buildings, and for^ 1 . sundry other items. The Minister then referred to the completion of de-

sign's for the jiew Parliament buildings and" detailed numerous works m the way of new court houses and other public buildings completed and proposed. The expenditure on the new post office at f Wellington, and" Auckland last year, amounted to £66,777. Durinc the year £182j497 was expended on school building£/ .' ■ . ;:';■'■

Workers' . Dwellings : Oln the Supplementary Estimates last year a vote of £15,000 was taken for workers' dwellings, and considerable preliminary work was done m pursuande of this appropriation.' On the current year's Estimates largely increased pix>vision has been made, '-namely, for the acquisition of suitable' sites .for road formation to give access to same/, and for the erection of suitable buildings. Agricultural- training works: Last year saw the completion and equipment of the', training quarters at the Ruakura farm of instruction, and a large number of lads are now m residence there. Further drainage operations have been carried out at Ruakura during the year, llie land is very responsive to draining, and the iharked improvement effected by this means since the farm was taken over has been 'a valuable object lesson. For the current year provision is made for the purchase of land for an experimental farm which it has been decided to establish m tKe South Island. * \

" ; ROADS AND BRIDGES.;,, . Liberal provision was made v on, last year's Estiinatea for roads, aaid every effort has been made since, the votes yvere passed to push on energetically with -the worksr No time was lost m offering to local bodies the expenditure <^f such votes a* it was anticipated, they yvbuld JhQ prepared" to ' undertake; ■■'. 'mo expendHure -or, .1603 items, totalling £ii 92,110, was offered to local v bodies, the offers- m. respect of; the iteiruV jirovided for on the main estimates being made on the 16th and 16th and , m respect bf the iSupplementary Estuna.ties on Dec. 12th. and 16th. When the loffera to .lpjcal bodies were'- made they were invited to submit proposals for expenditure at as » early a > date as possible,,,:: and informed that authority M r ould J>e issued so* soon 'as siich proposals' had been approved. Between the :}soth November and the 31st March no less a sum than £225,768 ; was authorised* to local bodies and departmental engiiieers," and : between 31st March and 31«;t' July aujbhority, for a further sum of \ s £Toj?d46 was issued. Some loav local "bodies; declined 'to ; take .up the' itenls offered' to tliem, others selected qnlj[. those: wliich preseiit/ed, little difficulty or expense: ill out, and m almost every. ; case wfi'e're the local body was unwilling to undertake any particular work, authority Avas promptly issued to tlie Departriierit's" local ehginefer J; ,to citrr^ It '606} On the 1 wht/le,. hovkfev&r," the response- may l i>e regarded as iuite satisfactory so far as the wiU' linguess of lociil bodies to undertake work is concerned. Despite the fact thati votes were" made available at the earliest possible, date,, the expenditure at the 3lstl March had not reached the amount I anticipated: Of course it will! be understood that at that datrj there were . many thousands of pounds' worth of Work iri h'afid wider grant's, muclf bf which ha 6 . since been completed. The 'fchenie governing expenditure by local podles of Government grants Jios. been simplified as far as is consistent with properly safeguarding the expenditure of public , money. Last" session 1 announced thq.: intention of the .Government to give, consideration to' applications foigrarits where the. local people were prepared to help themselves. A laige numsubstantial yotes,,on a-, pound for. pound/ basis were accordingly provided. Tlie expenditure of .these items has not v.o far 'reached aj(rything;;like ,the amount m many cases. '|Ti is is douHtless .attributable to the fact that when votes were ; provided;; local bodies; had: .not completed their arrangements for loans. An , increased- number of applications has hee^ri . ; received . this vye^ir- for grants on this. 'basis. It is unnecessary to detoil all .the . variows works . carried out during the year, but they may be summarised -as follows: New dray roads constructed 362 miles,! dray' roads motallsd 195 mile's, bridle roads converted to 4 va y roads 127 milea,, new bridle roads constructed 202 mile's, 'engineering siirvjey 1 made '445 miles, dray roads maintained- 1940. miles, bridges constructed (20ft. m length 1 or over) 149, stock. bridges. 72.

' R^p^ds on gqldfields : The expenditure kigt. year under: .this' head was £^3,420. Vj. is t>ropqsed v to coiitmue to assist local bodies', by meiiins.' of grants and sul>sidies towards the construction of rouds and tracks to enable plants and stores to be convejed to mines m course of development.

Totkl appropriations for . road works : Last? .year's appropriations were: as imdsr: Bonds, etc., £312,545, back block mstts £230,720, roads on goldfields '£55,420. . opening up- Crown lands .9100,000., national endowment account.

£15,935, hind for settlements account £20,865, new HutL road £20,000, main tenance of roada (CbiLsolidated Fund £30,000, total £783,485. The provision for the current year is as under : Roads, etc., £253,865, back blocks road £296,135, roads on goldh'elds £50,000. opening up Crown lands £100.,0C0, nai ional endowment account £19,450, lane for settlements account £20,000, ne\\ Hutt i-oad £14,000, maintenance of road, (consolidated fund) £35,000; - total. £788,350. GGLDFIELDS. 'Tlie mining industry maintains it position. The prpductjpn of coal 'in.'Nev/ Zealand is steadily increasing, and affords. indication of the continual growt! of our industrial enterprises. The ex tension of the l^uiriara water s race. i> nearing cohipletiori, arid it is anticipatec | that water will be available for sluicing before the end of the year. The : pipes « have been successfully laid across , thi bed of Teramokau river, and this is, Si believe, tlhe.first instance of such a worj being accomplished m the bed of s«( swiftly ' flowing a river.. The amoun' expended last ..financial year on the de) velopnienf of oiir go'ldfiekls was £10,845 \ and ft vote of £25,000.. is proposed fo:; the current year. ' . ■ i TOURIST AND HEALITI RESORTS S

The expenditure' on the Rotorua. dec , trical works Avas. chiefly for completing; the power-house extension, which enable ' production of higher power, and cense " quently admits a greater number of con nections. Some building Works wer also carried out at Rotorua, and a batl house has been erected at Tokaanu animprovements .carried' 1 ' xfyt : • '-.at tourist resoi'tsi i' -Fbi v ' tlie Cerent -yea i a vote of £15^000 js proposed, the prir cipal 'work provided -..for being a saiu torium fov woi-kers, and other building. 1 ; at Rotorua, , purcliase of Native to wn«hi( land at Te Puia, arid a new hostel r ; Mount Cook. TELEG-RAPH EXTENSION. . / Tho expenditure on telegraph and teh ; phone extensions ■ during ' the, , yeS ■ amounted to £111,868, the miles of pole and wire . erected aiid) Ojii course .'of cor struct>ion were ,427, arid ,2^57, l-espectivelj : Among the principal land lines ereete or under erection are "the following Auckland- Wellington, 1 Hamilton-Paero; Gisbonie-Te ICiuaka, arid Napier-Gi: borne. :..■-.- . ' ,

During the ptist year matters, m cor. nection with the installation of the w'm less telegraph system have been pushe for«"aa'd with all- expedition. '.'. A gres ' deal of iAitial work has been uivdertakei' . Contracts have been Jet fof~ the 'erectio of two high-power stations, one at Aw: nui, north of Aucldarid, and the other i ■ Awarua, near the Bluff: Both of thes' stations will have a daylight range < 1250 miles, and thus uninterrupted, con munication will be kept up with yesse' to find from Australia. Mediuriv^powf stations, having a^.daylight' Tarige, of 30 milesj, aa % e to be erected near Wellingtor (it New Brighton,- near Christchurch, E Gisborne. and on the (^overnmeri steamer Tutanekai. The vote asked. fc this year,. £175,000. includes .liabiliiiev amounting to £71,904, principally ! 'fc telegraph, and telephone, material undc order at tho commencement of 'the tinar cial year. ■■■.....■'■'■

Under the heading Jighthouses, etc reference is made tor the iTuahine ligh and other proposed works. TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS.

In addition to votes specifically refer red to, the Estimates* include provisio for the undermentioi^ed services : I)f partmental £48,000, immigrntion £20 000, lands imprqvompnt £20.000, contir gent defence- £20.000, thus biMnging th total amount of the proposed appropria tions, including special accounts, up t £3,145,674, against £3,248.210 voted an-' £2,039,508 actually expended last year. EMJ?LOYAffiNT ON PUBUG WORK?

In accordance with the poK^y aJread outlined m the Financial Statement thi year, the Government settlers who t&V up allotments under the proposed famil" land Settlement system will, < whereve possible, if they desire it,, .be employe* part of their time on the p-iblic. .wor\s t be promoted to give access to 'lands npc which they are settled. .

'IRON INDUSTRXv In regard to the development "of oiiiron ores and iron sand,- legislation wil be introduced providing an altcrnativ< for this purpose either, by private enter prise or by the State.- l CONCLUSION.

I have now reviewed the work of th< past year and given an epitome of pro pbsals ,. regardiyig the .current year. Th' votes proposed, while not excessive o extravagant, are nevertheless of an ex ceedim»ly liberal character, but are ius tified by. the Government's policy of nco grefrsive development of the natural re sources of the Dominion, and providing for reasonable requirements of the people, and will admit of a, satisfactory ratr of progress being maintained with van ous enterprises m hand. Tlie works ir progress and those iiroposed to be gom on with are all of a necessary character^ and their execution will tend to stil further advance the progress of th< Dominion. • ■ ■ ;