PUBLIC WORKS POLICY

Southland Times, Issue 23181, 23 April 1937, Page 8

PUBLIC WORKS POLICY

Criticism By Mr Hargest MINISTER’S REPLY PURCHASE OF AMERICAN MACHINERY (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 22. Commenting on the remarks relating to the Public Works policy niade at Waiuku recently by Mr J. Hargest, M.P. for Awarua, the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) said today:— “If Mr Hargest possessed a wider knowledge of New Zealand and its needs he would know the country is crying out for development and, far from mortgaging the future, as he puts it, the present Government’s Public Works policy aims at providing the development essential to the country s progress. Mr Hargest must appreciate the fact, and I think he does, that the Public Works Department has played a very creditable part in the development of the Dominion until his Government reduced its efficiency to the state of stagnation. The present Government’s policy certainly is accelerated, but this Government is convinced of the need for such development and we have sufficient faith in the future of the country to have regard to that future, and to strive to build accordingly. “The works we are undertaking today will definitely provide assets to the State. Admittedly future generations ■will have to carry part of the cost, but long after Mr Hargest. and 1 have crossed the ‘great divide’ these assets will remain, and future generations

will benefit from them to a greater degree than we will. Personal Glory “Mr Hargest asks: ‘Have I the right to mortgage the future for the purpose of adding to my personal glory?’ If Mr Hargest considers the heavy responsibility of the trust imposed upon the Minister of Public Works gives that harassed individual time to worry about personal glory, then it is just as well for New Zealand and Mr Hargest himself that he is Minister of Public Works. I want to tell Mr Hargest here and now that I am not in politics for personal glory. I care not what he may think of me or my efforts, nor will the attempted oratory in which he is indulging deter me from what I conceive to be my duty to New Zealand and its people. I am putting all the energy, strength and power I possess into doing my job. I have given up all personal interests and am giving my all in my effort to do my job, and Mr Hargest sits back and sneeringly talks of glory. I am not looking for glory, but my conception of my duty is different from Mr Hargest’s. ’ "Mr Hargest also states that men on Public Works are receiving pay that cannot be earned on uneconomic jobs. Just what does he mean? Admittedly the department’s men today are earning better wages than ever in the past, but they are doing work, the output is greater than ever before and surely the men are entitled to what they earn. Moreover, nothwithstanding the good wages paid, the cost of construction has decreased. How does Mr Hargest square this fact with the starvation wages paid by his Government? Does he mean the works in hand today are uneconomic? If so I invite him to come in and have a closer look .at the Public Works Department and ’ what it is doing, and ascertain for himself just how closely the searchlight of investigation is turned on all the suggested works. They are reviewed in the minutest detail by men of wide experience and proved ability, and whose detailed knowledge of New Zealand and its needs would perhaps surprise Mr Hargest. Moreover, in the selection of the works, the views of the particular local bodies concerned carry their just weight. Mr Hargest need have no fear on that score, but he should realize that in developmental organization of this kind it is necessary to look further than twelve months ahead.

Main Trunk Railway

“Mr Hargest has made reference to the South Island main trunk railway and has asked whether it will profit future generations or be a liability round their necks. He knows as well as I do that the present Government did not start the South Island main trunk railway, and the question this Government had to face when it came into office was: ‘Would it be better to complete the line and get the benefit of whatever developmental value it possessed, or allow the expenditure previously incurred to continue to be a dead loss, with no hope of any return?’ The same question had to be faced in regard to other lines stopped some years ago. In this Government's view there was only one thing to do, and that was to carry on and complete the lines to provide an asset, and get what return was available. I do not know whether Mr Hargest had the opportunity of viewing these uncompleted railways in the forlorn, derelict state in which I found them when I took control. If he had he must have realized what a monument they were of wasted effort and abandonment of hope, and what a sad commentary on the political administration of those dS “Mr Hargest also referred to the amazing quantity of new machinery of •American pattern to be found on the public works in the North Island, and asks: ‘What sum has been spent, and whether it was all necessary, and whether tenders have been called, or the order simply handed to a favoured concern.’ “I take the strongest possible exception to the veiled insinuation about the

tenders. Does Mr Hargest mean to suggest that the purchasing of this plant and machinery has not been done in a proper and orthodox manner. In making such an underhand insinuation he is striking not only at the integrity of myself, as Minister, but at the integrity of my departmental officers as well. Of course the tenders were called and the market tested from time to time. S As far as the American plant and machinery is concerned what the department has bought was purchased through representatives of no less than 23 American manufacturers. ‘ As to whether the new machinery was necessary I say it was, and mainly on account of the policy of the past Government (of which Mr Hargest was a member) in selling to the highest bidder practically all the gear that the department then possessed. Mr Hargest should know that months ago I stated publicly that because of practically all the equipment having been sold under instructions from the late Government it would be necessary to again equip the department with the necessary constructional machinery and, in doing so, my policy would be first to buy plant of New Zealand manufacture, second to buy plant manufactured in the United Kingdom, and third to then consider the best the rest of the world had to offer. This policy had been adhered to strictly and the purchasing had been carried out in a fit and proper manner and according to the usual procedure of the department. It was found, however, that certain of the heavier types of constructional machinery was not available from New Zealand or British manufacturers and it had to be obtained from America. The expenditure on purely construction plant and machinery since January 1, 1936, approximates to £500,000 and if installed machinery is added the expenditure totals £712,000. This amount is spread over the different countries as follows: New Zealand £85,698, Britain £ 354,871, America £231,152, Sweden £34,600, Germany £5248, Switzerland £6BB and Austria £478. From this it will be seen that: £440,569 has been spent m New Zealand and Britain and £272,1bb in foreign countries, including America. This expenditure certainly is large, but it must be remembered that when this Government took control of the Public Works Department it was practically depleted of effective plant. Saving in Time and Cost “It is now properly and efficiently equipped, with the result that on much of the work a saving of about 33 1-3 per cent, on the former cost is being made, and the work is being done in about half the time. It is estimated that these machines will have paid for themselves in four years’ time. I repeat I was compelled to purchase this machinery in order to bring down the cost of construction and no one hated more than I did purchasing large quantities of machinery from America, but it had to be done because England did not have this type of machine to sell. As a matter of fact the same type of American machine is in common use in the British Isles and the rest of the colonies, in fact the world over. Before these machines were purchased we compelled the company to give a practical demonstration at their own expense of the capacity of these machines in New Zealand. Both Houses of Parliament were invited to see these machines at v/ork. The Press was invited, the public was invited and the engineering profession was invited. Such a demonstration as this had never taken place before in New Zealand and it was for the purpose of giving the engineers of my department the opportunity of selecting the best type of machine to do the constructional work. After the demonstration had been given and we were satisfied that these machines were up to standard, _we called' public tenders and an American company was the successful tenderer for this type of machine.

Benefit of Mechanization

“To give some typical examples of the benefit of mechanization on suitable jobs I will quote the following:— 1. Nelson aerodrome.—Under the old system working with wheelbarrows and tip-carts the estimated cost was £175,000 and the time for completion would have been at least three years. The contract which I have now let for the work, as a completely mechanized job, is for £35,000 and the job will be completed in 18 months, thus saving the nation £140,000, and giving services in less than half the time.

2. Ashburton-Lyndhurst irrigation scheme.—The average cost a cubic yard of earthwork excavated from the solid and finally placed in the filling is by manual methods 3/6, by machinery 1/6-

3. Timaru airport.—The cost a cubic yard of excavating and placing stopbanks is, by’manual methods 2/3, by machinery lid. In this case also the cost of levelling the land can be reduced by 80 per cent, by the use of machinery. 4. Hawkeswood Saddle cutting.— The length of this cutting is 46 chains, and the maximum height 63ft, which necessitates the excavation of 290,000 cubic yards of material. By the provision of additional, reliable and up to date plant the improvement in the time for the job is estimated at 40 per cent., and the improvement in cost at 25 per cent. 5. —Hutt River Reclamation Work.— The saving on this work is l/5d a cubic yard as by manual methods it would cost 2/- and by machinery 7d. 6. —Plimmerton Coast Road.—The saving on this work is l/6d a cubic yard as by manual methods it would cost l/9d, and by machinery 3d. “These are examples typical of many other works proceeding throughout the country at the present time. As an instance of what the men will do when well-paid and well-treated I should like to quote the Mohaka Viaduct, which is the highest viaduct of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Young men who were living in a state of semi-starvation, with no prospects in life, were given the increased pay of 23/- a day. This gave them encouragement to work. They were certainly selected and many were trained on the job. They have finished the job in four months under schedule time, without a single accident, thus cutting out four months of overhead costs, which means the saving of hundreds of pounds to the Dominion. I could give many other illustrations of how the work is being expedited everywhere throughout the Dominion. Partly Completed Lincs

“Mr Hargest or any other member of the late Government should be the last man in New Zealand to indulge in unbalanced and superficial criticism in face of the record they left. The late Government started, and partly completed eight railway lines, namely, the Westport-Inangahua line, the South Island main trunk, the East Coast main trunk, the Dargaville branch line, the Murchison line, the Rotorua to Taupo line, the Okihau northwards line and the Palmerston North deviation. Up to the time these lines were abandoned they cost £7,052,866, with an annual interest bill of £299,601. The total interest paid to March 31, 1936, was £2,964,568. When these lines were abandoned the Coalition Government sold all the gear, including hutments, married men’s quarters, and plant of all descriptions. They even tore up the rails on partly-completed lines. Picks and shovels were dumped into the Buller River on the West Coast and, I am told, into the sea on the Parnassus line. When I took control there was nothing but rust and chaos, and no equipment whatever with 11,000 halffed men on the Public Works, and their families steeped in penury and want. Yet the people responsible for this tragedy and criminal waste have the presumption to stand on a public plat-

form and offer unfair criticism of those who have had to pull New Zealand out of the state of chaos and despair in which it was left. “I want to remind Mr Hargest that he and his colleagues were successful in deceiving the people of this country for a period of time, but the lesson the people learned because of his Government’s administration was so bad and cruel that it will never be forgotten. It has left an indelible impression on the minds of the people who suffered, and Mr Hargest’s group will again suffer politically when election day comes round. We will meet Mr Hargest and his party when the political gong sounds, and the people are summoned to give their verdict on this Government’s administration as against the records of administration of . the Government he was associated with.”