PUBLIC WORKS
THE ALLOCATION OF VOTES RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL BODIES Complaints regarding llie allocation of Public Works expenditure, made at the last meeting of the Wellington Progress League, were mentioned to the Minister of Public Works (Hon. J. G. Coutes.l on Saturday. Members of tho league had suggested that Auckland was getting an unfairly large share of the Public Works votes, and that the disparity was increased by the fact that the money voted for Auckland province was prac-
tically all spent, whereas the votes for other part* of JNew Zealand were largely underspent. Mr. Cuates was away from Wellington when these statements were first made.
The Minister indicated that he did not wish to reply in detail. He mentioned that expenditure tended naturally to follow settlement and population, and that the figures quoted Uv the league had been based on progress league districts, not land district? or provincial districts. His own plan was to allocate the available money in the best interests of the Dominion as a whole.
A-fact that is sometimes overlooked isi that local bodies have much to do with Pubhc Works expenditure. Very many of tho 'roads and bridges" votes take the form of subsidies, usually pound for pound, and the expenditure depends upon the willingness or the ability of the local body concerned to find the balance of •the money and put the work in hand, i n PP c «r5 ] that the local bodies in the Auckland district are particularly active in this respect The local bodies in other parts of the country.are not all so energetic. .
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Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 67, 13 December 1920, Page 4
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263PUBLIC WORKS Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 67, 13 December 1920, Page 4
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