The Press Wednesday, April 20, 1921. Public Works.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17124, 20 April 1921, Page 6

The Press Wednesday, April 20, 1921. Public Works.

The statement by the Hon. J. G. Coates upon "the necessity for conserving the funds available for expenditure on public Vorks has, as might have been expected, been attacked in some quarters as if it were a declaration that the .- "'Government intends to cease spending money even on necessary works. Mr • 'Coates, it need hardly be said, said nothing -which can be interpreted to mean anything at all like that. "What he did -. say* and what certainly needed saying, was that,-Vit was imperative that all "/.expenditure, private, local body, and "Government, should be restricted to "essential works of necessity." He pftjnted „<rat, what is surely obvious ' enough, that if some discrimination of ■> this kind is not exercised, v essential works will suffer through the dissipation of the available money on "works "of lesser, urgency, which, though desirable, could, without causing any "real hardship, be deferred." He is accordingly treating as essential work connected with hydro-electric development, "and he is asking local bodies to supply him with particulars of their ' treatment of authorisations issued. Some/time ago he consulted local bodies w.ith a view to reducing their commit-

ments in respect of authorised expenditure\ but. the response to his appeal was "altogether disappointing," and he proposes, therefore, to cancel all uncommitted balances of authorisations. Expenditure actually incurred and contracts definitely made will, of course, be honoured. We hove no doubt that the- Minister's announcement will be "but the public as a whole will certainly ] agree that this is a time for prudence *ifc' public • works expenditure. There--:are some 'works, upon which it is good ' 'business to- spend money even in a time of financial stringency, but a very sub- / -itantial proportion of the money annu- ' ally* authorised. in the Publio Works •"ilsjhnitea always goes' on works Fare'not'absolutely essential. It is > in works that Mr Coates ,' ~'^j^owi s io'n«ethe^nmingknife. Long

before the war we were pointing out that the allocation of money for these far from urgent works was a most potent factor in the retardation of really necessary works. If the Seddon and Ward Governments —to give a particular illustration —had not established and maintained the system of doles for districts the Otira tunnel would have been completed a dozen or more years ago*. Wc called attention in good and i prosperous times to the wastefulness of ! the system of public works 'expenditure I established by the old Liberal Adminis-. tration, and we have seen everyone I come gradually to our point of view. It is a hundred times more necessary now, when the country's prosperity has suffered a very severe, if temporary, check, that the money available for expenditure on public works shall be reserved for works that are really urgent and essential. Mr Coates will have difficulty in defending from the critics of lpcalities affected his decision as to what is and what is not nationally essential. He is sure to be criticised from every quarter. We hope that this may persuade him of the need for placing the allocation of public works expenditure in the hands of some expert, non-political authority. In the meantime, it is difficult to believe that anyone can be so misguided as to criticise the Minister's decision in such a way as to encourage local bodies to believe that they can without injury to the country go on spending money as if conditions were normal.