REFORM BLAMED

Southland Times, Issue 21192, 19 September 1930, Page 8

REFORM BLAMED

RAILWAY DIFFICULTIES MR LYSNAR SPRINGS A SURPRISE PARTY LEADER CENSURED. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, September 18. The House of Representatives received a surprise this afternoon during the debate on the railways report when Mr W. D. Lysnar (R., Gisborne) attacked the Leader oi the Opposition and Reiorni Party (the Hon. J. G. Coates) with accusations of having caused railway difficulties by expending large sums on unproductive works when they might have been building new lines to increase revenue.. “The Leader of the Opposition has laughed about this report and treated it in a disparaging way," Mr Lysnar began. “I regret his attitude and particularly his attempt to make it a party question.” Mr F. Waite (R., Ciutha): lou will get your line. “The Leader of the Opposition ridicules these committees,” Mr Lysnar continued, “but he was responsible for setting them up. I hope and ask that the Government will not be stampeded by his attitude. What lines are under construction at the present time that he has not sanctioned?” The Speaker (Sir Charles Statham) : I would remind the honourable member that this report deals with working railways only. Mr Lysnar asked for latitude to show how railway construction had hampered working railways. The deviation works at Auckland and Tawa Flat had run the Department into about £5,000,000 and the Leader of the Opposition was responsible for that, but it had not brought another penny to the Department or another ton of freight to either Auckland or Wellington. Mr J. S. Fletcher (L, Grey Lynn) : AJfhat about Gisborne ? The Speaker again reminded Mr Lysnar that the report dealt with working railways and not construction work. Mr J. T. Hogan (1., Rangitikei) rose to a point of order and said that one part of the report referred to railways under construction. Mr Lysnar was proceeding impetuously to refer to the new railway stations at Auckland and Wellington when the Speaker interrupted him to give his ruling on a point of order and said that while he would not stop members from referring to anything mentioned in the report, he would.remind them that the report was on working railways. Continuing Mr Lysnar said that practically every uncompleted railway in the country could have been completed with the money spent by the Reform Party on the schemes he had mentioned and the country would have benefited in revenue. Then the Leader of the Opposition moved to stop all railway construction. He declaimed vehemently, “Why didn’t he do that when he was in power instead of spending £5,000,000 on unproductive works.” Continuing, Mr Lysnar referred to railway workshop reorganization and said that they would have to stop reckless expenditure and waste. “This honourable House knows how I have treated the Reform Party in the past and knows how little they have done,” he concluded. “I will always oppose them as long as they try to bring party politics into national questions. We must get down to bedrock. The ridicule of the Leader of the Opposition will never do any good.”