ARMY MOTOR VEHICLES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 89, Issue 225, 22 September 1945, Page 5

ARMY MOTOR VEHICLES

QUESTION OF DISPOSAL

MINISTER REPLIES TO QUESTIONS.

(P.A.) Parliament Bldgs., Sept. 21. Answering Mr. W. A. Bodkin (Opp., Central Otago), in the House of Representatives to-day, who .suggested that in the disposal of motorcars, the Plunket Societies operating in country districts should have a priority at least equal to that of Government Departments, the Minister of Finance. Mr. Nash, said welfare societies received special consideration, but there had been no cars for sale for some time. Mr. Nash said ihe Commissioner of Works had the right to oversee all experdilure involved in any planning which the Government had done or was doing. Mr. R. M. Algie (O; p.. Remuera) asked who was responsible for and what steps were being taker to depose of Army vehicles at Hopuhopu

Mr. E. B. Gordon (Opp., Rangitikei) also wanted th? position clarified in regard 1o the disposal of Army trucks and tanks at Wa’iouru. As the trucks stood at present, there was vast deterioration on tyre-. II? understood that the tanks could have been sold had not ihe war ended so suddenlv. and he wondered whether they could he put to some useful purpose in the country.

Mr. H. T.. Acland (Opp.. Temuka) asJ<ed ihat in the event, of disaster in any part of New Zealand, could a Treasury officer stay in the affected area to co-ordinate other Government departments involved? Mr. Nash, replying to Mr. Acland, said he would be glad to look into the matter.

Dealing with the position generally of Army trucks and motor vehicles, he said it was hoped in a short, lime to arrange sales in the Auckland area, and the Hopuhopu vehicles would be included. If tanks of a certain type we had had proved useful to Britain, we would have been £3,000,000 better off to-day. The chances were that the bodies of the tanks would be left, where they were, or else dumped and the engines taken out and .sold. He was anx ous 1o do something about them and get them out of the way. (If the tyres were taken off the trucks, what would be done when they wanted to sell the trucks? Suggestions to prevent the deterioration of rubber would be welcomed. All those reserves of vehicles at Waiouru was a matter which would be looked into, but instructions had been received from, the War Office, London, not to dispose of any of them. Mr. Acland hoped that, when Army vehicles were released for sale that sales would taxe place in other centres as well as Auckland. Referring to th War Assets Realisation Board, he said a great deal of equipment had been sold to the people of New Zealand by the board, but he did not think it quite fair when all taxpayer.; contributed 1o the original purchases that prices should differ in the North and South Islands. He instanced the case of bulldozers landed at Auckland from the islands, which, because of the freight, would cost more in the South Island, and >aid he knew of a case where a man in Canterbury had to pay £lOO to get a mechanical shovel landed at Auckland down there.

Mr. Nash emphasised that in the disposal of Army trucks the procedure was to consult the transport licensing authority as to the needs of individual operators, to allot trucks according to the advice of the licensing authority, always giving the fullest possible preference to ex-service-men. The difficulty of evenly distributing plant brought back from the islands was that it was landed mostly at Auckland and Wellington, and it was necessary that the work of putting it. in order should be done where the plant was landed. He agreed with the justice of the iuggeslior. made by Mr. Acland and would have an inquiry made to see if it was practicable to give effect to it. The difficulty was that sometimes the cost of shifting goods to a particular point was that transport would cost more than the goods would realise.