GENERAL REDUCTIONS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17943, 22 November 1932, Page 9

GENERAL REDUCTIONS

PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES ROADS AND BRIDGES OUT UNEMPLOYMENT FUND ASSISTS ( Parliamentary Reporter.) . WELLINGTON, this day. . The references in the Public. Works Statement, now before the House of Representatives, to the various directions in,which cuts in expenditure have been made furnish an interesting summary of a general effort for economy under Ministerial pressure. The Hon. G. E. Macmillan, actingMinister of Public. Works, in presenting the statement, mentions the substantial savings in regard to roads and bridges, public buildings, railways, and other classes of work in which the department was f ormerly engaged to- the extent of millions of pounds’ worth of expenditure in each year. He notes the fall in the railway vote, and mentions that the 'Stratford-Main Trunk line should bo completed by the end of the financial year, while in other directions the outlay enforced upon the department has been substantially reduced.

The one subject to which the Minister refers in terms suggestive of a continued steady investment of public funds, bevond the, absolute minimum demands, ‘is the progress of irrigation schemes, which he considers to 'be worthy of regular support in view of the eventual return to the Dominion through increased farm production. Ou this subject, the Minister comments: “One class of work which I have not hesitated to undertake is that of irrigation of land. Expenditure in this direction is such as will result in an ultimate increase in economic farm production, even though it may not immediately bear fruit, and I have there--1 fore endeavored to keep a fair number j of men employed in this way.” In a further paragraph of liis statement, the Minister mentions the efforts of the department to keep men in work as far as possible, and . states that the department has undertaken the building of the greater proportion of the small cottages which are being erected on 10acre plots of land, acquired for unemployed workers. To date, 288 cottages have been built by the department on these plots, the aggregate cost being approximately £49,000. “The Unemployment Board is also entrusting to the department the expenditure of a small*part of its funds for relief of unemployment,” continues the Minister, in reference to the matter of keeping men in work. “This money has until recently been expended mainly on road works, but a proportion of the funds is now being used for the reclamation of land, chiefly on drainage works and on land clearing. Out of a total of 3421 men employed by the department with monetary assistance from the Unemployment Board, more than half are now engaged on land development. Considerable widening and improvement of roads was carried out m the early stages, but it was decided that much more beneficial results would be obtained if this money could be used to metal roads to backblock farms, llie proposal was agreed to by the Unempioyment Board, and the greater propoition of relief workers now* on roads are -employed on metalling schemes.