ESTIMATES FOR ROADING

Southland Times, Issue 23389, 22 December 1937, Page 6

ESTIMATES FOR ROADING

BIGGER PROGRAMME NOTFAVOURED

A COUNTY COUNCILLOR WITHOUT SUPPORT

A suggestion made by Cr L. A. Niederer at a meeting yesterday of the Southland County Council that advantage should be taken of the Supplementary Estimates to provide roads for settlers in the backblocks met with protests from fellow councillors. The votes for the work, previously printed in The Southland Times, were available, subject to contributions from the County Council, and councillors generally expressed themselves as opposed to additional rating for the purpose. Advice of the provisions of the Supplementary Estimates showing the votes for construction and improvement for settlement roads, bridges and other public worts in the Southland County was received from Mr W. G. Pearce, resident engineer of the Public Works Department. “Cabinet’s agreement to the increased programme is conditional on, (a) contributions from counties being not less than those mentioned in the schedule, and (b) wherever practicable, and working in conjunction with the Labour Department, labour being taken from the unemployment registers,’ wrote Mr Pearce. “It is the Minister’s wish that as great a result as possible in the way of improved access to settlement be shown during this financial year, and during the present metalling season. It may not be practicable or advisable for County Councils to carry out the works except by public tender, and probably contractors would not agree to a stipulation that all labour be taken from unemployment registers. I am advised that the stipulation will apply only in those cases where it is practicable.” WORK ADVOCATED “This is an interesting stage in the work of the council,” said Cr Niederer, when the letter was read. “We have taken up a false attitude for a number of years and have been leaving the work in the hands of members for ridings. I think the time has come when the council should decide whether or not the work should be gone on with. The work has been confined to one or two ridings, but I consider it an absolute disgrace that people in Southland have been living without decent roads for 40 and 50 years. Now when we have the opportunity I think we should make a stand in the matter, and put the work in hand immediately. Where the roads are essential they should be done. I understand we have that power now. The statement made by Mr Semple (Minister of Public Works) that every man has got to have a road to his door within five years is a sound one. Now that the offer has been made we should take advantage of it. We should see that everybody gets a fair go. Where there is a legitimate request for a road X say ‘Yes, do it.’ That is my attitude from now on. We could be a little more progressive in these matters. We should show more interest in the areas which councillors represent and see that they get a fair deal.”

Cr F. F. Trapski said he took exception to the suggestion by Cr Niederer that the council was not progressive. He would ask Cr Niederer how many miles of roads he had done in his riding without a Government grant. Every member of a riding should know best which roads were essential.

Cr J. McNeill: I hope to heaven that Cr Niederer will never have the right to dictate to me which roads I shall spend money on. Each member has the interest of his own riding to look after and every three years there is an election when the ratepayers have the opportunity to express their opinion whether or not good work is being done. Sometimes grants are given unnecessarily and if it is thought that we are going to spend them when such work would be wasted, then the idea is all wrong. Any suggestion for a rise in rates in some ridings to provide for the work is out of order. It would be a mistake if the time came when members interfered with the work of ridings outside their own. Cr T. Golden asked why the thousands of men on sustenance and unemployed could not be out on some of the works mentioned in the Supplementary Estimates. “We have thousands of these men available today,” he said. “Surely this would be preferable to loading up the ratepayers with taxation to get work done on roads from which the county gets little or no rates. Yet if Cr Niederer had his way he would increase the rates —and all these men doing nothing. Personally I am not going to spend 1/- on subsidizing roads from which we will not get any rates. I am not going to load the ratepayers and squeeze them off their farms through over-rating.” Cr Niederer: You might squeeze them out through under-roading. The chairman (Cr A. S. McNaughi) said he disagreed with Cr Niederer in his remarks about the settlers being without roads. There were odd cases of hardship and there always would be.

Cr Niederer: There are cases where they have been without roads for 50 years.

The chairman said whatever they might say about this matter the council was there to please the ratepayers and not any individual at the council table. There the discussion ended and the letter was received.