THE PREMIER’S REPLY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 3 August 1929, Page 3

THE PREMIER’S REPLY

DIRECT ALLOCATION NECESSARY

Sir Joseph Ward replied as follows, on 16th July-: “I am in receipt of your letter of 21st. ultimo, concerning the financial arrangements made for the current financial year. I am pleased to receive your representation in the matter, but it is evident that the position is not being viewed in the proper perspective. All the money expended out of the Main Highways Account is either loan money borrowed by the State, or the ,proceeds, of. taxation, and while the Highways Board, as representative of the .parties particularly interested in the state oh their roads, is vested , with authority to determine bow and when the funds made available for arterial roads are to be expended; it must not .be overlooked that all such -funds are public iinoney. . Accordingly, the finance of iltoi-Mairt -Highways Account cannot be ?kppt apart from the finance for other purpose^/shd; all must be subject to the general .financial position prevailing each year. ' C. ■ , -‘The ’last financial year ended with a .deficit;oi £577;000, and the Government is ; faced -with the question of rectifying , this unsatisfactory state of affairs, and ensuring a balanced budget •for the' :.currenfc financial year. Every item that' means added charges on the taxpayer has to be most carefully considered! '• “The. resources of the Main Highways Revenue Fund are more than ample to imeet current requirements, apd accordingly this fund must assist to makegood the shortage in other directions. I. therefore regret that I am unable to amend my decision to provide 1 -the whole of the new capital for Alain. Highways Construction Fund, by direst-allocation, instead of partly through the Public Works Fund.” THE EARTHQUAKE ANOTHER FACTOR A further letter from the members .of the Highways Board to the Alinister of; Public Works, forwarded on 18th July, was as follows: — -Following on our interview of this morning, the point which -w 6 wish to bring particularly before you is that so. far as information received up to date shows, the expense which will be involvfed in restoring the damage to main highways in the areas damaged by the earthquake on 17th June, will amount to a figure not far short of a quarter of a million. * “The board realises that it is part of its duty to repair damage to roads, and any such expense is a reasonable charge against its revenue fund, but this damage is of such a cataclysmic nature as seriously to raise the question of whether some assistance should not be given from some source outside the ordinary funds of the .Main Highways Board.

“In addition to the repairs there will be required reconstruction probably on better lines than the rood destroyed, in which', case park of the expense should come -from boiA-owed money. Also in •coping- with Hie emergency the board has. found it Accessary to. make use of secondary roads, some not even highways,~ ph : whicji a certain amount of construction, as- apart from maintenance;’ TVill-have to be carried out daring the- iieit,i year or longer period if the repairs to the main highways are not complete within that time. This charge should certainly also come out of borrowed .money. “Ti(e . circumstances set out above ad<l wright to the representations made .recently to the Prime Minister by the members of the. board, representing the • counties and .motoring interests, and •addressed to him on 2lst June, and before he finally replies to that letter of 21sfc7 June;; We would be glad if you .would ask the. J?rime Alinister to consider the facts set out above, whereby it will be seen in addition to the general principles referred to in that ■ letter, there is \now the special- circumstances of the " earthquake still further to strengthen,, the. jiepresentations. in favour ;.of the;.:r6’£erition of the grant of ‘not less than £200,000 per annum’ from the Public Works Eund.

“W,e 'use the words ‘not less than £2oO>Ooo’ which appear In the Act" 'governing "our operations, and we think the present is an instance when the sum <of £200,000 might well be increased to deal with tlie very special emergency which has arisen. “We recognise the difficulties which this year confront the Minister of Finance,■ as explained to ns by him, and.; /.so:-that': there shall be no- mis-, understanding, this letter is not intended as a present request for £200,000 (or more) in addition to the loan moneys which the Minister of Finance has already made available to us, but is a request that of that sum £200,000, in accordance. with clause 16 (b) of the Main Highways Act, should not bear interest. Any sum which he is able to give on account of tlie special emergency would, of course, be additional to the £200,000.”