FUNDS LACKING

Taranaki Daily News, 11 August 1932, Page 15

FUNDS LACKING

WORK HELD UP. DUNEDIN POST OFFICE. Owing to lack of funds, construction work on the new Dunedin Post Office is being temporarily held vp, , “The Government fully realises tho claim of Dunedin for a new post office building,” atateß the .PostmasterGeneral (the Hon. A, Hamilton) in a letter to the member for Dunedin Central (the Hon. Sir Charles Statham). “A suitable site m available, and already a very large amount of money has been expended on tho foundations- It is also realised that the citizens of Dunedin have waited long and patiently, and had the present depression been a. little longer delayed, there, is reason for believing that the construction of the building would most likely have been in progress by now. Tho . uncertainty of the° immediate -future, however, has caused the Government to review most of its projected public expenditure—the urgent need of all available cash making it imperative, for it to conserve its resources. “Although the necessary money for this building can be provided out of the Post Office Account,. this must not be taken to mean that this work will not affect the Consolidated Fund, The accounts may be kept separately, but they are both public moneys. The uncertainty of the movement of costs and prices and money values in the near future are also factors influencing the present position. 1 am fully aware of the great impetus such a work would give to tho unemployment problem in Dunedin, and so am keen - to see tho erection of the building undertaken as early as possible, but the opinion is firmly held that it is wise to hojd over the commencement of this work for a further brief period. “In the next few months we should be in a much better position than we now are to gauge the prospects of the future, and it may then be possible to enter into commitments with more confidence than is, possible at present. This need not be taken to mean that the building is abandoned, but that it is being temporarily held up, I would, therefore, respectfully ask Dunedin people not to be over-anxious at thia stage.”