The Press Wednesday, June 18, 1930. Transport Regulation.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19957, 18 June 1930, Page 10

The Press Wednesday, June 18, 1930. Transport Regulation.

In his statement, published in The Pbess yesterday, the Minister for Transport gave the public fresh reasons for anxiety over the Government's transport policy. Though he drapes his intentions in fine, efficient phrases about co-ordination and eliminating "unnecessary competition," their ugly shape is not at all well concealed; and the Dominion has fair warning that legislative power will be unfairly used, unle&3 Parliament and the electorate are sufficiently clear-headed and clearspoken to forbid it. Mr Taverner quite certainly means well; he speaks, indeed, with an innocence that almost touchingly reveals his aptness in learning the orthodox departmental creeds and his faith in them. But he says nothing that encourages the public to share his faith. When he and Mr Yeitch changed portfolios, he says, he thought that what he had learned about railways would help him to "in- " augtirate administrative machinery " for a practical working scheme to co- " ordinate transport"; and now he finds —"from the opportunity I have "already had of examining this prob"lem in my new capacity"—he finds "that it is beset with many difficulties"; and the greatest of these is "the necessity for legislative power." Mr Taverner was Minister for Railways long enough to see one spring-cleaning in his office and to learn in which pigeon-hole he should keep long envelopes and in which pigeon-hole short ones; i?e has been Minister for Transport long enough to wear the stiffness out of a new pair of boots; but already he has so thoroughly "examined the "problem in his new capacity" aa to know that, before he can " inaugurate " his " administrative machinery " and set his "practical working scheme" going, he needs "legislative power." Everything can, be beautifully co-ordinated, all unnecessary competition can be eliminated, once the Minister gets legislative power "properly to regu- " late commercial transport on an u eqnitable basis." The naive character g£ this plea should not deceive anybody as to its dangers. Since the State I*as an enormous! interest in using legislative power to defend the railways and to throttle road competition, whether necessary or not, and since it has shown an increasing eagerness to extend and improve the restrictive experiments it has already carried out, it is impossible to hear Mr Taverner's preliminaries without real alarm. As he gays himself, New Zealand is specially in peed of " highly organised transport facilities"; but restriction: v a#d obstruction of the development olefiiteient transport are clearly written between the lines of his statement. When the State secss ppwer, it seeks power to get what it wants, and what it chiefly wants, in transport, is to stop the railways from losing a million and 9 a yefHfiJrfilt what JJ». country wants is something by no means to be expressed in the same terms*, the best and/ most economical transport. The country must therefore on no. account be milled. H the Government arms itself with power 'to get what it wants, it will be armed wijth power to cripple and delfly national development, and even to set it back, Everyclause of t£e Goyernmenfc's prQposals "will have to be weighed with the most anxious eaxe, and, in' particular, 'any clause empowering tile Minister to issue orders'with the effect of law must be absolutely refused.