PARLIAMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 625, 6 December 1913, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

I PUBLIC WORKS STATEMSNT. DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. jity TKi.i-:i;n.\rn.- s- •:>< i v n«x. J Wellington. Friday. The delate on the Pnbiic. Works Statement was comnifrced this afternoon. Sir .lo?eph """r:3 f:u;1 he wonid call attantkm to the first pvrapraph ei thn statement. v;hi?h he enrsidered did not represent the position. The Minister had stated Ibui; tl>*j t•>{'»! expenditure for la?t year was "actually the largest in any single ; e-.r for over thirty years. In the beginning of the- paragraph he stales that owing to the? financial nutrition obtaining fit the? close of last sessic". !•<» did not feel justified in making available for mimediate expenditure th° whole of the now items appea'- ii? on 'ho Public Works Estimates. Bivi yet the loan of last year was not received until after the end of the financial year. He Baked how much of i!; j amount to b° tranferrecl from the Consolidated fund Odd—was to go to the Public Works FundThe Hon. J. Allen: The whole of it. Sir Joieph Ward: I am very glad to hear it. There was nearly 30 per cent, shortage on goldfields roads expenditure between the amounts voted, and the amounts expended. If the Hon. Mr Fraser was not trying to throw dust in the eyes of the people be was in the eyes of his follower?, and he admitted they were pretty blind. He held that in other directions the amounts voted were not expended, and yet the Minister proposed to spend large sums on new railways, the routes of which were not even known yet. Dealing with the Estimates for public buildings, he quoted an item of £666,000, and characterised it as profligate expenditure. Nearly a million extra was proposed in that connection thi3 year over and above last year yet all the Ministry had said, and said again, that they would reduce the expenditure in public works as the expendtiure was enormous. The Hon. J. Allen said that in 1911 not one penny had been transferred from the Consolidated Furd to the Public Works Fund. Regarding Sir Joseph Ward's criticism of the first paragraph in the Statement, he said as soon as the success of the flotation of the new loan was assured the Minister of Public Works opened his heart. He could not do eo before. He proceeded to elaborate the Minister's policy of caution during the period of financial uncertainty and held that wa3 the true policy to pursue in order to secure assured finance Sir Joseph Ward had been in the habit of making promises to the taxpayers which were never carried out. Two hundred and fifty thousnd pounds a year had been promised for backblocks roads prior to last election. but it was never fulfilled. He agreed that the expenditure on public huildinrrs was toi heavy. He hoped that in Decebmer 1911 this country would he independent of the London ma rice t. Mr W. D. S. Mac Donald said he could not see anyhing to rejoice about in the Statement. They had been told that mor.ey would he available for public works out of the .€300,000 loan, but the first paragraph of the Statement said restrictions had had to be applied. It nmu.-'cd him to hear Ministers who had been in office for a few months sneer at those who hnd had experience of public works and finance for a quarter of a century. He regretted that sums which were voted last year and were not expended were not re-voted this year. Dr Newman said the Opposition had failed as a Government, and had failed lamentahlv as critic-. He urged the grading and form;':;: of arterial road? to further motor waggon trail']?, thus diminishing the necessity for light feeder railwavs. Mr Colvin could rot under:-t..nd why the Minister authorised new railways whole, dozens of half-finished linerwere left opverely e]e:ie. He urged the completion of lire? started before the new ones were commenced. Mr Forbes regretted the suspension of v.ork on the Sou'h !«l r nd Main Trunk In'e. whicb, bo held, was the nio:t important line in the country. He urged the making of road? before the land was opened for settlement. Mr Anderson agreed with Mr Forbes on 'the last point. He thought many railways should ho completed before the Otago Central line. Sir James Carroll urged the linking ui) of Gisborne with Wellington by railway. Mr Coates could not congratulate the Minister or the Government on sustaining the objectionable system of doles and grants for bridges and roads. He urged reform in the administration of the Public Works Department-. Mr Han an said the Government bad failed to effect economies by the reduction of expenditure, as had been advocated by them when in OpposT tion. Mr Russell complained t hat the Government. while professing to reduce expenditure, increased it by over a million during their first year of oilice. Ho charged the Government with feeding up its own member, only with doles on the Estimates. The Hon, Mr Massey said the Government had kept borrowing within reasonable limits, and. had sem that the people got value "for their money. Had the present Government been in power at the time the Mackenzie Government was they would probably'have found it 'necessary to borrow as much money as they did but they would have done so on better terms. ® Mr Witty condemned 'the failure to provide accommodation at mental hospitals, which were overcrowded. After the telegraph office closed the debate was continued by Mi Matider. who complained bitterly that only about £2OOO of new money had been voted for his ditrict. He advocated a reformed system of local government giving local bodies sound finance to

I en/ihie them to do necessary public i work. Mr EI! advocated the reinstatement lof thn Road- Department., The Pubi lie Works Department was undorstaff--1 ecl in the runticr of engineer?. and the | road diVtrirlr wore too consequent iv the roadr- wore neejeetcci. He | urged tconfinusncr «■' ro-opcra-i live ays* em to provide for v. t :;Uer \.rn- | pels v-'ho had to sjnd r. plo-v i-.) flic life iof 1h« country. Concern in;: •••hortage i of con!, he ventured the opinion that ! if the Government would put on a | State phip there would hj" in- eilliculty in getting her leaded ie relieve the shortage in Wellington. ! The Hon. Iwr Prater: We Suvo .1000 | tons of coal at West port mid can't get ; it fiWRV. Mr El!: No: not in private ships; ; but put on a State eliip. and yon will j have no dnueulty. ' Mr NY? wort by: Wr \v?JI have no | more of thai sort of thin?:. [ Hon. 'uendiorr: 'Have yon any authority for niakinr; the atatemrnt? Mr Ell: 1 hove no authority for Buying so: but that is my opinion. The otafo coal mine war; opened up to reduce the price of eoal. and ihia i? one of the ocrpr-i.an: on which it -bould he used for ibe henclit of the people. The MiniM-v did not reply to the debate, and the Cemmitt-e House- went into Committee en the Kctimntes, which were, dehnLoci by members who were concerned in voir? attaching to their own dSt-'irief*.:. After four hour'.' debate the Estimate?, totailinn .I'S. 000,000, were passed and the House rope at 7 a.m. to resume at lO.eti a.m. on Monday to consider local Bills.