BOARD TO SEEK EXPERT ADVICE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22340, 27 May 1947, Page 6

BOARD TO SEEK EXPERT ADVICE

HARBOUR DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS COMMITTEE REPORT MEETS OPPOSITION A. decision to seek expert engineering advice upon the possibility of improving port facilities, with a view to enabling overseas vessels to berth at the Gisborne wharves and there load primary products for shipment to the United Kingdom, was taken by the Gisborne Harbour Board at its monthly meeting yesterday. The advice to be procured will deal also with other possible improvements to the port.

Brief discussion upon a report I from the board’s advisory com- I mittcc, which recommended that i the hoard go no further with j the matter at present, resulted j in the adoption of a proposal | advanced by Mr. I. J.; Quigley, deputy-chairman, providing for an investigation of the physical possibilities of the port to sup- j plement the investigation already made into the economic aspects of a scheme put forward by an influential deputation which waited upon the board two months ago. The advisory committee reported after a special meeting, at which 13 out of the 15 board ’members were in attendance. that the secretary had presented a very full and detailed statement of the financial and economic aspects of the problem “After full and careful consideration j it was finally resolved that as the j figures presented show that the additional revenue would not exceed £12,000 and that the greatest sum of, money that could therefore be raised without increasing the rate is not more than £250,000 to £300.000. and that the cost of any worth-while improvements to accommodate overseas vessels would be considerably more than this sum, the committee recommends the board to go no further with the matter at the present • time,” the committee’s report added. Physical Possibilities The adoption of the report was moved bv the chairman of the board, Mr. A. J. Nicol, without comment, and Mr. QuigIcy immediafely proposed his amendmerit, as' follows: “That the report be amended to read as follows: . "(A) That whereas the report submitted by the special committee set up by the board and later investigated by the advisory committee indicates that an expenditure of £250,000 to £300.000 could be undertaken without an increase of the laud rate, the board now complies witn Clause A of the deputation’s request, \iz.. to inquire into the physical sibilities, at a reasonable expense of loan moneys, as to whether oversea? vessels could be accommodated anc worked at the Gisborne wharf. 1 “(B) That the board obtains the advice of an expert harbour engineer for the purpose of such inquiry and that the inquiry should include consideration of the scheme submitted by the harbourmaster, and improvement of existing facilities. ’I do not want my intentions to be misunderstood. I am not advocating Ihe construction ol an outer harbour c r any expenditure on development works at this stage. The only cost involved by the adoption of the amend inent would be the expense of seeming a i engineer's advice," said Mr. Quigley. One Angle Investigated He pointed out that the deputation which approached the board _ two months ago had asked for consideration of port facilities under five main heads. The board had dec.ded—and wise.y. in his opinion—-to investigate (he economic implications before any other. This had been investigated d.v a special committee, the finding ol which had been confirmed by the advisory committee of the board, and it had been decided that £250.000 or £300.000 could be expended without adding to the land rate; but that any worth while expenditure must be well in excess of that amount. “I believe that the finding of the committee as to what can be spent without adding to the rate justifies the board in. going iurtner and giving consideration to clause A of the deputation? icquest—which was that the board should investigate the pnysical possibilities ol development," said Mr. Quigley "The board owes it to those bodies which were associated with the original request. It is hardly right to set the whole proposition aside without considering that further issue. 'An engineer can tell us whether there are possibilities now or for the future. We are all interested in seeing the overseas ships come back to Gisborne, to work either by lighter or direct from the wharves. So long as this agitation is in existence we are going to give interested parties an opportunity to delay tne return of the b g ships to our port,” he concluded. Mr. C H. Williams seconded the amendment and agreed with Mr. Quig ley that the board would not be carry i-.ig out its duty if it depended uponthe opinions ot members as to how tar £250,U00 or £300,000 wouid go in providing improvements to the port laciiities. The preset was a most inopportune time to attempt construction works, but the amendment did not envisage an., immediate expenditure beyond the cost oi securing competent advice. Mr. Williams referred to the use of the term “worth-while improvements” in the advisory committee's report, and labelled it a vague sort of term. The board could only decide such a matter by securing expert opinion as to what was worth-while and what could oe clone. The members were not in a position to decide that for themselves, as laymen. “We should have expert advice before we turn down any chance of improving the port facilities," continued Mr. Williams. “An investigation by experts may show that a substantial improvement can be made, and that would have a strong influence on the future of our port.” , , Strong support for the amendment was also forthcoming from Mr. M. JWhite, who stated that it did not propose the expenditure of a penny on new construction, but did propose an investigation to comply with the request of the deputation. He submitted that the report gave no reply to the deputation on any other than the economic angle of the question. Secretary’s Report Confirmed This angle had been investigated first by the board's secretary, whose report had been confirmed by a reputable firm of accountants, to the effect that the board could expect an improvement in its revenue sufficient to warrant an outlay of £250,000 to £300,000 without incurring an increase in the rate. No reference had yet been made to the possibility of the raising of port charges and wharfages to yield a higher revenue, though this could be done without reaching the level of Napier's charges. The physical possibilities of improvement were, of course, matters for experts and not for laymen’s decisions, he added. Taking the opinion of laymen 1 ud cost the district a lot of money in 1 ic past: but that fact should not stop l.io board lrom taking a progressive course now if the expert judgment war- , ranted it. “Who knows what it would cost to bring the overseas ships in to Gisborne'.’’’ asked Mr .White. “We don't know: but \.e can employ expert assistance in determining that matter, We don't want to be an appendage of Napier for all tune- our wool is going there now, the Works Department, the State Advances Corporation, rehabilitation, State insurance are all handled through Napier. . . Mr. C. H. Williams: Education matters are ruled from there, too.

Produce Shipped From Napier Mr White agreed, and said that he had heard recently that the Health Departments staff in Gisborne was now to work under Napier. Who could say whether this movement of control to Napic-r was not due in some part to the fact that Gisborne produce had to be shipped to Napier for export. “We have had some rebuffs in the past, but we cannot let that stand in our way now. Gisborne is one ot the finest districts in New Zealanci, and it is proper that such a district should have its own port, adaea Mi. U lute, who held that the board owed it to the ratepayers.to make a preliminary investigation of the physical possibilities of the port. Support for the amendment was also voiced DV Air. A. B. Steele, who pointed out that board members were only the servants of the ratepayers, and that in carrying out .the wishes ot the deputation thev wouid be meeting tile desires of a large number ol ratepayers it represented. The board should have a plan lo cover the potential development of the port, at least.' “Whatever my own views may be does not appear to matter.” said Mr. W. T. Veiled. 'The board should settle this matter once and for all. It is no use having it going on ior ydars, and on that ground I support the amendment.” “Big Order in Chilled Beef” Mr. Veitch referred to the promotion of the district's chilled beef industry, and quoted an opinion that to make this worth while would require a certainty of 10.000 tons per month for shipment That would seem a pretty big order, and while it might not be impossible it could only be met at the expense of some other form of production Mr. M. Doyle said that he was in accord with the finding of the committee. but he would support the amendment if it included provision ■or a report bv engineers on any further facili'ies that might be provided tor working ships. The chairman: That would naturally follow xf the amendment were carried. Mr. L. Miles supported the amendment and pointed out that the report, when received, should cover all aspects of the development problem. ‘We should answer the deputation's quesions as to wiiat can be done and what it will cost: and the only way to answer these questions is to get expert advice,” said Mr. Miles. Mr. W. R Clarke also indicated his support lor the amendment, and xMr. J E. Benson, who had seconded the motion for the adoption of the committee's report, admitted that the mover ot tne amendment had made out a strong and sound ease for further investigation. He was prepared to agree that the deputation was entitled to an answer on the points raised but he had been afraid of any more “wild-cat schemes" being undertaken in the port. . “Tell Us It Can’ Be Done” Mr. J. T. Gordon: It looks as though the amendment will ue carried. I think what we are doing is to gel an expert to tell us it can't oe done. We know that a dredge would cost £200.000 or more The chairman stated that •he was firrmy ol tne opinion that expert opinion would confirm the decision ol the committee. He was convinced the scxieme to extend the port lacilities w.is unsouiut, and he agreed yp;h Mr. Gordon that, the scheme would be far beyond the reach of the board and the district However, a majority of the board supported the investigation, which seemed designed to satisfy the committee. He added in reference lo Mr. Whites statement about laymen's opinions that the board had always acted on expert advice in the past. When the amendment was put to the vote onlv Mr. R. D. D.vmock registered a negative vote, and he did not persist when it became the substantive motion before the meeting.