ROAD TRANSPORT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20966, 19 February 1938, Page 8

ROAD TRANSPORT

NATIONALISATION NOT INTENDED PLAIN STATEMENT BY, MR SEMPLE By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, February 18. “Although the transport legislation gives licensing authority power to fix the charges made by road transport operators who come under their control, the general policy up to the present has been to allow the charges to be determined by competition” said the Minister of Transport, the Hon. R. Semple, to-day.

“In a few instances operators and their customers have amicably agreed among themselves on schedules of charges,” continued Mr Semple, “but in no cases have the schedules been made conditions of the licenses. The future policy has been under consideration for some time, and towards the end of last year I received comprehensive reports from the four transport licensing authorities. I am of the opinion that the position can best be met by leaving the matter as far as possible in the hands of those most concerned, the road transport operators and the trading and farming communities. Where representations received by the licensing authorities from licensed road operators show that uneconomic rates are threatening the efficiency of the industry and the standard of life of those engaged in it, arrangements will be made to bring the carriers and users of their services together with a view to arriving at mutually satisfactory schedules of rates. I want to emphasise that every endeavour will be made to reach amicable settlements. Any agreed schedules will then be considered by the appropriate licensing authorities at public hearings specially held for the purpose. If the authorities are then satisfied that it is in the public | interest to do so, they will make it a condition of each license in the areas affected that the schedules of charges must be observed. If it is found possible to reach agreement, the licensing authorities will hold public sittings to hear representations from all interested parties and will then proceed to draw up schedules of charges. The public using the services will have the same access to the licensing authorities in that they may make representations if they feel that competition is not fully effective and the charges which they pay are too high. The seme procedure set out for carriers will then be followed. “I wish to stress that the Government does not desire to foist schedules of charges on either the transport industry or the public except where it can be clearly shown that such schedules are necssary in the public interest. A Wrong Conclusion "There is a further matter on which I think some clear statement should be made. From time to time the Prime Minister and myself as Minister of Transport have stated that this Government does not propose to nationalise the transport industry. Largely for political purposes statements have been made both from the public platform and in the press that the policy of the Government is to nationalise all road transport. I want to say emphatically that the Government has no such intention. The Prime Minister told a large deputation in November last that the Government’s job was the coordination of existing services and future services and as far as the private individual could give service he was going to give it. Further, fears have also been expressed that the Government proposes to take steps to restrict the farmer in the use of his trucks for the carriage of his own produce. This also is flagrantly untrue and is made in the face of the following statement by the Hon. D. G. Sullivan in August last, ‘a definite assurance that the Government had no intention of imposing any restrictions on farmers using their own trucks for the carriage of their produce was given by the Minister of Railways when asked what would be the position of farmers as a result of the Government buying out transport services operating parallel with the Railways. The Minister said the Government had never contemplated imposing any such restrictions on farmers, but plans were in hand with a view to giving the public a

flexible first-class goods service which he hoped and expected would be so attractive that it would be to the advantage of the farmers to use it.’ This statement appeared in various newspapers throughout the Dominion.”