MAKING THE RAILWAYS PAY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18875, 13 May 1931, Page 4

MAKING THE RAILWAYS PAY.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IDEAS. The Associated Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand suggest the following method of railway reorganisation:— (1) The railways should be incorporated in the same way as a public company, with a definite capital of, say, £40,000,000, and a definite charter or franchise. The adult population of New Zealand, approximately 400,000. would be the shareholders, each with a £IOO share. These shareholders, through the Government, which they acquire through the ballot-box, should elect three directors to control the policy of the company. As with Judges of the Supreme Court, these directors should be subject to removal only by resolution of both Houses of Parliament. (2) This corporation must be entirely divorced from Parliamentary or Ministerial control, and placed in the hands of its board of directors, with the same powers as the directors of a public company. These directors should be men of wide business experience, but need not necessarily have transport or technical knowledge. (3) This board, although entrusted with the formulation of the general policy of the department, should appoint a general manager, possessing the necessary transport and technical experience, who should be given the responsibility and opportunity of carrying the board’s policy into effect. (4) The appointment or dismissal of the entire staff should be in the hands of the general manager. (5) The board of directors, in consultation with the general manager, should have the sole power to initiate or stop new construction; to continue or discontinue traffic on unpaying lines, and to fix all tariffs, passenger and freight. (6) Finance for new undertakings, unless provided out of revenue, should be provided by the Government making any addition to the railways capital, on the authority of Parliament. (7) The office of Minister of Railways should be abolished, and the board should deal with Parliament when necessary through the Minister of Finance.

(8) The purchase of stores should be vested in the general manager, but single beyond a definite amount (say £5000) should be subject to the approval of the board.

(9) A full-time chairman seems unnecessary, but as the work will be of a responsible character remuneration should be £ISOO per annum for the chairman, and £750 each per annum for the other members of the board; but the board should not exceed three in number.

(10) • Ordinarily, the appointment of general manager should be in the board’s hands, but as the present occupant is under definite engagement for a fixed period he should be given a reasonable opportunity to show • his capabilities. If the board eventually finds him incompetent, it should have the power to terminate his engagement on mutually satisfactory terms.

(11) It should be a duty of the board to make a comprehensive annual report to Parliament and to issue public statements of its progress from time to time.

(12) The railway accounts should be kept on recognised commercial lines. Subject to the reasonable capitalisation of the railways, depreciation and obsolescence should , in future, be charged against revenue. (13) The Appeal Board, as at present constituted, should be abolished. In conclusion, the Associated Chambers appeal to Parliament to settle decisively the vexed question of railway control. The country is staggering under an almost unbearable load of taxation. The railways as now handled, furnished the most crippling item of all, and until, and unless they are placed on a business-like basis, there is little chance of the country regaining financial stability.