PUBLIC WORKS

Southland Times, Issue 22200, 18 December 1933, Page 8

PUBLIC WORKS

POLICY CRITICIZED RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION URGED UNCOMPLETED WORKS (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, December 16. Railway construction was the principal topic during the discussion on the Public Works Department statement in the House of Representatives to-day when pleas were'made for a more vigorous public works policy as a means of alleviating the unemployment situation. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr M. J. Savage) protested against works of first class importance being done under relief conditions. It was no use trying to get out of the depression unless the foundation was right and the only real foundation was the conditions of the mass of the people. It should be possible for the Government to get schedules of work, both national and local, which would give widespread employment at decent rates of pay. The present report of the Public Works Department showed that the department was drifting. What was happening in connection with uncompleted railways which could be finished with advantage to the Dominion? asked Mr Savage. The time was long overdue when public works should once more be placed on something like a reasonable basis. Surely that was within the capabilities of the Government. The officers of the Public Works Department should be instructed to prepare a schedule of useful works which could be carried out and the Government itself should set itself the task of arranging the finances. The old question as to where the money was coming from would surely not be raised during the debate. That had been replied to so often. Money could always be found to carry out work that was worth while, and men employed on those works could be paid sufficient to keep themselves and their families in decent circumstances. It was to be hoped that the Minister of Public Works and the Minister of Employment would concentrate their energies on the planning of economic public works. It would not be a question of raising the unemployment levy in order to furnish finances. Mr W. A. Veitch (Independent, Wanganui), in supporting the Leader of the Opposition, said that approximately £4,000,000 per annum was being wasted in creating within the country no permanent assets whatever. It was an unsound policy and quite wrong that the money collected from the people in employment taxation should be expended on private property. The money should be used to some useful purpose on public property. AU uncompleted public works should be examined and works which were essential should be completed from the unemployment funds, and any further funds, found necessary, should be borrowed. Mr Veitch said the interest on the Gisborne line, as it noW stood, amounted to about £170,000 per annum, and physical deterioration must amount to

a greater sum. South Island Main Trunk. Referring to the South Island main trunk line Mr Veitch said the figures upon which the decision to stop work on the line was reached were erroneous and were not based on facts. One aspect of the situation which had not been dealt with was that both end sections of the line were running at a heavy loss and would continue to do so until they were connected. Now was the time to get on with the work. Uncompleted transport services should be completed in time for the better conditions which were coming. He congratulated Mr Savage on calling attention to the grave error of the public works policy which was in urgent need for being rectified. The Minister of Labour (Hon. Adam Hamilton) said that difficulty was being experienced in endeavouring to get men to leave relief works for standard public works. A lot of important public works of New Zealand had been completed and it was hardly to be expected that public works should continue as they had continued in the past few years. The bulk of the railway work and hydro-electric system had been completed. Complaint had been made that public works were being done by local bodies as relief works. The Government’s difficulty was to prevent that, and it was difficult to stand up to the pressure that was being applied. As far as possible the board stood up to the objection that public works should not be done out of relief funds. The board was preserving the unemployment fund as much as possible, but it did not want local bodies to use relief labour for work that should be done out of their own funds. The Minister of Public Works (Hon. J. Bitchener) denied that the men were not allowed to cam more than 10/- per day on standard works. He did not stand for a man’s price being cut down if he earned a fair rate of pay on contract work. In some cases the men had been earning as much as 15/11 a day. The majority of the men were earning a fair and reasonable rate of pay considering the times. It was not the intention of the Government to proceed with railway construction as had been the case some time ago. The department was trying to help and encourage the men.