TRANSPORT CONTROL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 44, 20 January 1938, Page 8

TRANSPORT CONTROL.

VIEWS OF ALLIANCE. DESIRE FOR COMMISSION. Per Press Association., WELLINGTON, Jan. 19. Important policy questions wer« discussed at an executive meeting of the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance at Wellington to-day. Ihe discussions disclosed the wide difference that exists between _ the steps contemplated by the New Zealand G-overnmcnt and the results of a systematic investigation which the Government in Great Britain recently concluded. _ .. It was stated that in New Zealand the present policy had* a prospect of taking the form of single-ownership, a purchase tribunal having negotiated for the purchase of privately-owned road services by the Government. There was also in the policy a restriction of road haulage to 30-mile limits where these services operated parallel to the railway. Manv road transport operators considered that the policy was directed to protection of the railway services by the creation of a transport monopoly operated by the Railways Department. lii Great Britain, it was stated, a Transport Advisory Council had conducted an inquiry into the whole inoidence of transport during tne past four years. The British council was under the presidency of Rt. Hop. Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, r.C... and consisted of 29 eminent public men representative of all sections of the community interested and affected. In a recently-announced recommendation to the British Government the council emphasised “that any attempt to dictate ■ services and to • endeavour to decide that certain goods should go by certain forms of transport would be impracticable,” and it was aclvised that- -all- forms- of- transport- should be rate-controlled and that from fhis point the public. should have a free choice of transport facilities. ' In view, of these recommendations it was decided by the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance again to approach the Government and ask that before purchase and single ownership are attempted a similar commission be appointed in New Zealand to investigate and advise on future transport policy in this Dominion. / MONOPOLIES OPPOSED.

Conferring with the executive of the Alliance, Mr A. P. O’Shea, secretary of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, urged that the strongest representations should be made to the Government against the trend toward the creation of transport monopolies. Explaining the view of the union, Mr O’Shea said it was felt that with transport taking the form of a monopoly—whether under the direction of the State or in a private company—there was the danger of an imperfect service.

Mr O’Shea added that tlie union was not necessarily opposed to voluntary co-operation or co-ordination schemes under which individuals could pool their services to increase efficiency by the elimination of dead mileages and securing of a better balancing of the traffic, but it was a different thing entirely to force mergers which virutally created a monopoly control over all transport arrangements. The policy of single-ownership—whether by the State or by private companies—was an exceptionally dangerous one, and contained all the elements giving rise to immediate future troubles.

Subject to no hindrance being offered voluntary co-operation, the Transport Alliance endorsed the views expressed by the Farmers’ Union ana, also, it was further hoped that the union, would associate itself with the carriers’ associations in mutually striving for conditions which would give- stabilised transport blended to tne needs of every locality.