BETTER MAIN ROADS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4450, 7 August 1922, Page 2

BETTER MAIN ROADS.

TOY FARMERS SHOULD CONTRIBUTE.

“Board and Council,” the New Zealand local authorities’ review, contains an interview with. Mr W. Stuart. Wilson, of Wellington, on the subject of “Better Main Roads,” with special reference to the statement issued by the Minister of Public Works ip reference to the recent Main Rbads Conference.

At the outset Mr Wil sop congratulated the Minister on his efforts to bring about a definite good roads policy, and to place an Act. embodying that policy on the Statute Book. “The Minister.” said Mr Wilson, “is working under great difficulties. The chairman of the Counties Conference has taken lip a very unreasonable attitude. He wanted everyone but the counties to' contribute to the fund, but desired that the counties should have the whole control of the expenditure.” It was owing to Mr Jull’s opposition, said Mr Wilson,, that the Bill of last session was shelved. Many of the counties were by no means in favour of the policy of Mr JuH (chaic#fan of the Counties’ Association). Mr Wilson maintained that the Bill introduced in Parliament by the Hon. Mr Coates was an honest endeavour to solve a grave national problem.

“The motorists,” Mr Wilson asserted “emphatically object to a heavy license tax. Motorists are already paying mOny taxes in the form of duty on cars, spare parts, all motor accessories, petrol, and there is also the tyre tax. Motorists willingly agreed to the tyre tax last year tor the purpose of contributing to the better main roads scheme. Now, owing to the unreasonable attitude of khe chairman of the Counties’ Conference and his associates, they have forced the Minister to impose this iniquitous tax; for the Minister .has stated that something like £,156,000 would be required from motors. Apart from the tyre tax already imposed and in process of accumulation ‘he necessity to find the additional: £150,000 from motors was riot at all favourably received. But towards the end of the conference, the Minister stated, ‘there seemed .to be : a feeling amongst the representatives of motor interests that, if they really had to find the sum of £300,000 they would make proposals as to how and whether this could be obtained without levying such a high license fee a.s was originally suggested in the draft Motor Regulation Bill of last year.’ “Mr Downie Stewart,” said Mr Wilson, “told the motorists last year that if they agreed to the tyre tax, which has since been imposed, the vehicle tax would be purely a nominal oue, and the Minister is now going ba 2k on that.”

Mr Wilson pointed out the unfairness of imposing a general vehicle tax, which must necessarily f'all on motor-lorries and cars which never go outside the city boundaries, and would never use the main country roads "The farmers,” continued Mr Wilson, “want everything their own way; they want the motorist to pay for better roads, so that they (the farmers) would reap the benefit jf the unearned increment; ifor there could be no doubt that first-class roads would greatly improve the value of the adjacent properties. American farmers recognise that good roads enormously increase the value of their property, and in many cases in the United States the farmers find the money and tell the local bodies to go ahead with the work. In one State alone 60 million dollars was collected among the farmers and set aside by them for the purpose of construct'ng better'roads.”