Untitled

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1932, Page 4

- RAILWAY BOARD POLICY. The discussion in Parliament of the annual report of the Railways Board was of very little moment. Most of the criticism was in regard to matters which were the outcome of political control, and which have now to be accepted with all their consequences. The more the debate is studied the greater will be the satisfaction of the average taxpayer that the control of the railways has been placed in the hands of experts who have had training in commercial affairs as well as in railway technique and administration. In one respect the debate was interesting. The member for Napier, Mr. W. E. Barnard, hinted at the possibility of private enterprise being willing to complete the railway between Napier and Gisborne, one of the works stopped by the present Railways Board. The suggestion raises the old question of whether privately-owned railways are to be permitted, and in considering this the value of the judgment of an independent controlling authority will be very great, though the policy is one which must be left to Parliament to decide. Apparently the movement towards private ownership has not gone far and until details of the suggested arrangement are known the scheme can scarcely be discussed. It is, at all events, refreshing to hear that investors have so much faith in the potentialities of the districts the railway would serve as to be willing to find money for its construction. What Parliament will need to be satisfied upon, however, is that the proposals will not in the long run involve the State in expenditure upon railway construction which has already been shown to be uneconomic.