LIMIT REACHED

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 77, Issue 6543, 23 July 1948, Page 5

LIMIT REACHED

STATE AID FOR ROADING STATEMENT BY MR NASH The Government is already spending more on maintenance and improvement of main and state highways than it receives from the taxation of motor spirits levied for highway purposes. The limit of Government help to counties has therefore been reached. This intimation from the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash has been received by Federated Farmers in reply to a resolution from its Dominion council calling for Government attention to “the deplorable state of country roading.” The Minister, in his letter, stated that finance to a certain extent was made available to county councils in special cases for construction and improvement of county roads. At present that was the most the Government could reasonably provide from present taxation, he said. The federation had asked the Government to accede to requests already made for a “rebate to counties of motor taxation on a pound for pound subsidy, applicable to county as distinct from highway roading. Mr Nash added that while the rates of some counties were approaching the maximum authorised by Statute, the position in other counties was very different.