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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16570, 28 October 1924, Page 9

construction per mile as good as exists in these older, more populous, and richer countries cannot be expected in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the results that have been obtained to date in New Zealand need give no cause lor compiaiui. While the United States lias only about 13 per cent of its roads hard, surfaced. New Zealand lias sU per cent. If we take the total areas of tiie respective countries into consideration, we find that the United States of America lias less Limn uiie-ciglilli ol a mile of improved ruad per square mile ol lorritoiy, while New Zealand has nearly a quartet' of a mile. With the provision of a reasonable amount for opening up the backblocks. and the special fluids made availabb Linder the Highways Act. I am confident that as tiic years go by New Zealand’s: position, both as regards the proportion of ils improved roads and as regards the actual high standard of ils moi'ti intensely trafficked 'highways, will be still further improved. One of the engineers of the Department lias been abroad fur thu past- twelve months obtaining first-hand knowledge of road-coustruction and administration methods throughout Europe and America. Thu information which lie has obtained will be of considerable- value. HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT.

II The Public Works .Statement of lust - year provided for an expenditure of . £964,000 for the year ended 3lst March, n 1924, and of about £11.000.000 per year e for tliei ioliowing five years on extensions . of existing schemes and on new develops me-nts. During the year a substantial t . advance was made on various portions of t this programme. The total expenditure ] on extensions and new works amounted c to £865,072, increasing the total capital , invested by the Department on hydro- . erlectrie development, from £2,170,100 to , £3,035,172. This extra capital has been f expended cri the following main divi- , sions: —Lake Coleridge £44,766, Hornbore £79,794, Mangahao £682,309, Ara- ■ puni £57,706, Waikarcmoana £497. MANGAHAO. An expenditure) of £682.309 has been ; made in connection with this scheme, and ' veiy substantial progress has resulted. ■ Pract it ally the whole of the power that can bo made available from Mangahao has now been allotted to the various 1 Power Hoards which can be supplied " from the substations under construction. These Boards lmvc entered into guaran- ' tees to the Department to pay for the whole of the output of Mangahao powerstation (24,000 k.v.ii.) within five years, and the indications are that the whole of the power- available will he taken up in less time than that. Before this station becomes overloaded a start will have been made with the- main Waikaremonna gen-erating-station, which is the next link in the Department’s general scheme of development- for the North Island. At present the Mangahaoa scheme is carrying the capital cost of an excessive proportion of the main transmission system, making (lie capital cost appear excessively high in proportion to the installed •riant capacity. As the scheme becomes fully loaded and connected up with Waikai'cmoaua on the north, part of the eapi tal cost of the transmission system and some of the substations will have to he adjusted to the Waikarcmoana scheme. LAKE COLERIDGE. An expenditure of £44,766 has been made on extensions to this scheme during the year. The plant has been built, up to a capacity of 16,000 horse-power, which is the full capacity of the present tunnel and headworke. A start lias been made oil the duplication works which will provide for an additional 20.000 li.p. in this station. HGRAHORA. An expenditure of £79.794 lias been made on extensions and additions to the Horahora power-station and to the transmission system radiating therefrom. Contracts have been let for the supply of two additional 2000 kw. units. A. transmission line connecting Horahora and Auckland has been under/Construction during the year, and will he completed by about January next. ARAPUNI. Early in the year tenders were invited in' two sections for the construction of the complete head works and power station for the first instalment of this plant. This will consist of three units each of 15,000 kw. capacity. The lowest tender in each qise was submitted by Armstrong, Whitworth, and Go. (Ltd.), and a contract totalling £l,170,891 has been made with this firm for the construction of Doth sections. The departmental estimate was £1.168,277. This power plant, which will he considerably larger than anything previously operating in New Zealand, will be manufactured for the most part in Great Britain. The whole scheme -lias been i most favorably commented upon by the ( various experts who in vestig ated it in connection with these contracts, and it- is ( now assured that the Auckland district, will be. supplied for some years to come , with power to meet all requirements. W AIK A RE M O A N A. ‘ A small plant- has been installed by the Department- at Waikarcmoana for , the supply to Wairoa Borough Council. G and in anticipation of our requiring ; power for construction pin-poses on the - main scheme of development. This plant • has been leased to the Wairoa Power Board, and has been j operated by them ( during the year. The results have been < Very salisfaetoiv in supplying the needs i of the Wairoa district, and in building up ; a load in that district in anticipation ut a large development. The plant has a i capacity of 700 kw., and the maximum i load reached during the year was 555 k w. The financial results considering the I plant, simply as an operating-station are i not- very satisfactory, but as the plant c is really an advance portion of the larger 1 scheme of development at. Waikarcmoana f the capital investment is considerably t greater than would have been necessary i if the scheme had been put. in lmrcly for ; its present, purpose of supplying power < to the Wairoa Power Board. t The capital outlay is £77.148. - Capi- c tal charges (interest and depreciation) t amounted l to £5574. and the/ revenue to : £2IOO. giving- a loss of £3474 for the year. For the current, year the main works ' under construction will include : Waikaremoana.—Detail plans and specifications will be prepared in anticipation of an active commencement of the major scheme at this place as soon as our staff j are released from Mangahao, and the ; load on Mangahao indicates that an ad- ( ditional source of power is necessary. j POWER BOARDS.' , The Power Board legislation was intro- r

duccd in 1918 to set up new local authorities whose special business it would be to distribute and sell electric power to the consumers of their district. With the la-ego programme; of development which the Department lias in front of it. it is felt that ibis portion of the electric-supply business could with advantage be banded over to bodies having direct inturust in creating and increasing the load which it is essential the Government scheme most- scenic if they are to become profit-earning at an oariy date. Tho -matter has been taken up so enthusiastically by the people generally that at the end of the financial year there were thirty-six Power Boards in existence. These Boards cover an area of 57.876 square miles, or 56 per cent, of the total area of the Dominion ; the total population concerned is 679.748. or 53 per cent of the total population of the Dominion ; and (he unimproved land-value included in the Power Board district is £180.707,472, or 54.5 per cent, of the total unimproved laud-value of the Dominion. Of tho thirty-six Boards, thirteen are already operating and supplying power, eleven have embarked on an active scheme of construction, whilst the remaining twelve have done only preliminary work. 1 A thu end of tho year the Boards bad a capital investment of £3,212,296, and (ho ratepayers in their districts by a vote of 28,975 to 2589 bad authorised the raising of loans totalling £7,941.000. The Minister went on to deal with various minor subjects, including additions to open lines, public buildings, telegraph extension, etc. Conclusion. I" last year’s statement 1 drew attention to the necessity of endeavoring to co-ordinate the expenditure un various transport-ways, in order that, after allowing for main-trunk transport-ways, both railway and road, a!! other trans-port-ways should be complementary lo one another, ami all leading to support the most economical and efficient, instead ot. as is too often’ tin; case, competing with one another.

It must be realised that the country’s public indebtedness is nut merely the public debt of [lie Government, but tbal debt plus the debt of every local body in New Zealand. For every pound of such debt the people must pay in one-way or another.

While there exist so many authorities vested with borrowing and expending powers it is practically impossible to control the position or co-ordinate the result of such expenditure. Too -often proposals to raise large gums of money are put forward without any real investigation as to the geneiral economic -results of the expenditure and its real advantage to the district concerned. Not infrequently expenditure “schemes”—and I use the word advisedly—are put forward by enthusiastic “boosters” who entirely mislead tho people, who will have to pay in the longrun. I have little hesitation in saying that tlicsrt works arc often commenced to give an inflated prospective value to lands, which, having been created temporarily. the promoters sell out at enhanced value and leave some one else to carry the burden. Unless there is sonicmeans of comprehensive survey and regulation of total public indebtedness to considerations of population, land values, productiveness, and average- value of products, the position will remain unsatisfactory and may even become one of grave concern.

The Main Highways Act is the first direct legislative step in the direction J have* indicated. Instead of each county working independently, tho District Highways Council considers reading from the point of view of best serving the interests of a number of grouped comities, while the Highways Board is.enabled to co-ordinate the work of groups. Blitthis measure of control operates only in regard to one avenue of expenditure—namelv. roadwork—and that only on

roads which .aid declared main highways. There still remain all other roads. I have great hopes, when oneo this scheme is in full operation, and its benefits realised, that it will result in anial gamation of many counties, even perhaps to the extent of amalgamation of all counties within tho various groups. By this means it will be possible to vastly inn prove the standard of staff efficiency and, organisation, and that must surely result in better and cheaper work on a more comprehensive plan. 1 believe it to be an urgent measure of local-government reform that we should reduce the total number of local governing bodies which exist within one another's boundaries, overlap, and to a considerable extent duplicate one another's work. As an indication of this necessity 1 have but to point to the fact that we have 118 boroughs and cities, 71 town boards, 129 counties, 35 road boards, 59 drainage boards, and 49 river boards, all with their separate staffs, plant, and overhead charges. It is obyious that, a very considerable percentage of these bodies could be done without and their work absorbed by the remaining local authorities.

These are also- some 39 harbor boards in existence constituted as such by special legislation, and. in addition, there are fourteen other harbors in respect of which the local authority is delegated with and carries out the powers and functions of a harbor board. Even some of the specially constituted harbor boards could have carried on satisfactorily ..under tho administarlion of an existing, local authority.

Possibly the time has not vet arrived for tho organisation of a Local Government Board, but it does seem to me that we should take into early consideration the creation of a plan whereby no local authority may proceed with the raising of a loan until the proposal lias been first submitted to experts for investigation. in order to ascertain whether (a) the work proposed is sound from -an engineering point of view; (b) it is justified at (lie cost estimated, having regard to existing services; (e) it i.s economically sound, having regardTo its value lo the district concerned and the cahaeilv of the district to pay for it ; and (d) (if applicable) it fits in and forms part of a comprehensive plan of relative works.

Assuming ;ill these factors lu lie answered by the expert investigators in (lie affirmative, and the raising of the loan concurred in by the Treasury, who would maintain a record of all public loan indebtedness, actual and prospective, the way would then be clear for the local body to submit the issue to the ratepayers, who would have an assurance which they do nol have now. In conclusion, sir, 1 have, assisted by the officers of the Department, endeavored to so direct tile forais under by control and the expenditure of moneys appropriated by Parliament to obtain twenty shillings worth of result for every pound spent. 1 have to thu best of my judgment carried out the works which will return the best results In aiding general Dominion prosperity and in the improvement of the condition and pro-dueing-powo'T's of those who are not as favorably situated as those of our citizens who carry on their activities within easy reach of the well-established markets or lines of communication. Confident ly I look forward to a. year of satisfactory progreser-, during which 1 will again he guided in my administration ly determination to do all that is possible to produce the greatest good for flic greatest number, while- at the same time not forgetting the ’’’under dug.”