EXPERT ADVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 August 1930, Page 8

EXPERT ADVICE.

IPerhaps the most interesting portion of the statement made in Parliament on Wednesday by the Minister of Railways, Mr. W. A. Veitch, was that in regard to the reorganisation of railway workshops. It will be remembered that tho Reform Government decided, upon the advice of experts, to scrap some of the old workshops, and to concentrate certain work in new premises to be erected. Those responsible for recommending tho change were apparently •able to produce convincing figures as to the waste and delay involved by the continuance of obsolete methods and the non-existence of modern machinery. The Ministry’s advisers wore against any tinkering with the railway workshop system, and they were confident that if tho bold scheme outlined were carried out there would be a saving in the repair and maintenance bill that would amply compensate the Dominion for the extra capital expenditure. Not unnaturally the advice of the technical expert was accepted, and the reorganisation has been carried out. The result so far is distinctly depressing, and raises the question of what reliance Ministers or the country may place upon so-called expert advice. To begin with the capital cost of the reorganisation, though it has been carried out during a period in which prices have been falling, is £570.690 more than the original estimate. Were savings commensurate with even a bloated outlay being made the country could accept the situation more or less philosophically. On the contrary, according to Mr. Veitch, the cost of maintenance of rolling stock has gone up by £250,000 instead of the saving of £270,000 estimated by the engineers who drew up the re-organisation plans. It looks as though tho workshops scheme had been devised to meet an expansion in railway services, which experience during the past decade should have shown was, to say the least, highly problematical. The net result of following “expert” advice is that the country must find another half-million pounds a year by increased freights, reduction in services, or taxation. What the public will assuredly demand is that those responsible for this costly error be brought to book.