PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9789, 12 October 1917, Page 7

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

ANNUAL STATEMENT BEFORE PARLIAMENT

SMIHRY OF THE YEAR’S OPERAMS

The Public Works Statement for 1,717 was bronghlt down by Governor-Gene-ral's Message in the House of Representatives yesterday. Tho Minister for Public Works laid the Public Works Estimates on the table and said ho was prepared to take tho dicussion on them tho following evening. Tho Statement in part was as follows : "When I prepared my Public Works Statement last year I was under the impression that I would bo able to expend within the financial year the most or tho money X was asking Parliament to vote for road and bridges. Acting on this belief 1 authorised for expenditure the whole of this sum to either tho lecal bodies or to rny district engineers on the basis of one-half of tho unauthorised items on the estimates for each county. Owing, however, to the . impoasibilitv of obtaining sufficient labour. I was unable to secure the expenditure of. much more than one-half of the sum so authorised. The result is that from tho sum I' now propose asking Parliament to vote for roads and bridges— l namely, £120,000 —I have first to deduct .£50,000 for the flood-damage vote, and then the unexpended authorities issued prior to March 31st, 1917, amounting to £185,C00. This will leavo jSICo.OCO, which will bo only sufficient to provide for about ono-half of those items on last year's estimates w-hich were not acv thorised, and also enable a few of the most urgent new applications to be dealt with. If tho war continues for another twelve months it can hardly bo expected of mo that I shall be able to expend the whole of the money proposed to be appropriated for roads _ and bridges; still, I consider it advisable that I should bo empowered to meot any. contingency that may arise. The ' extraordinary and continuous rainfall that has been experienced over the greater part of the North Island during the last twelve months has caused an enormous amount of damage; to roads and bridges. The country became water-logged, and wherever the roads had not been metalled they were quite unable to bear any traffic and soon became quagmires, causing very serious inconvenience. X have endeavoured as far as it lav in my power to assist in repairing this damage, but the. loss accruing from this deluge of rain has been* very serious. total expenditure. Tho following table shows tho brief particulars of tho expenditure, of. the year, and also, the total under each class ox work from, the inauguration of tuo public works .policy up to March 31st last:— Expend!- Total exturefor penditure •• your end- to Marts*" . • ed March. 3lst, 1917.' 31st 1917. v

WATS, AND MEANS.' .. : ■" . ~.£ On April Ist, 1916, ..tho .avail-, 0 .. able waffs tend means for publib works purposes w’oro 1,293,10Arid further funds wore rcce-iv,-,- , od as rinder: — , , Under tho . Add (to Public ; Works arid Land Settle- ‘ ment Aril,’ 1914 ....; - -. aOO.bOO Oshe/r receipts and recov- . - tries -•■••• ■ <1.906;. Making ’.a gross total k>f — 1,800,903 <The ordinary expenditure _ of ~ the yaar amounted Ato .£1,278.■ll3, plus the expenses of raleing Wans £35, 'thus bring!®* FUhio itoltal disbursemerita This loavols a balance to ifho credit of the ways and meakis ■account Life dho end of itho _ your of S2l - a25 For tho current year dt is .proposed to provide additional funds as under:— Balance of aufchonfised loan money still .to he raised •. Under (the Add <o Public Works 'and Land for Settlements Act, .1914 45,100 Under ‘the Finance Adt. • 1916. esetibn "49 (Pub- ’ • lie Works) 700.000 Under tlhe Finance Act, 1917 850,000 Making Dho total Ways and means for 1917-18 £2,116.625 The e..<bi!ma.ted cxpondHtu/re for public Works for th& current year (excluding ii.pa.yaito accounts having their own ways and means) Amounts’to' ,cr;531,715, leaving yfn estunnntril balance of £234.910 L> bo carried forward to next-year (1918-19). In iaddiVtiton to fthe amounts described aboVe. wo Wave authority to ralso the foUdwirur eums > — ■ £ Under the Aid to Water-poxvor A,it. 1910 130,000 Under dho Wafhou. and Ohirie- ‘ ■ mini Rivers Improvement Artt, 1910 iO.OOO DEVELOPMENT OF, .MINJNG. • , The value of • the 7 mineral output for the year Wars -£2,978,436,- being a decrease of £396,087 when, compared with tlfe . output during the previous 1 -year. In. addition ijo -'the mriUeiral ouitput 11,331.003 tons of fdono was obttiined- from quarries suibjeot'. to . inspeoeion under . the Stone Qu/arries Aat. ■ ' ■ i ' : , The expenditure under dho ■ heading of 'Development of- Mining”- during last your was £4593.... A -dote of, £1450 is pioposed to be taken' ffcliis year. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. ; '.J Tho dotbl’nimminf vested an d. expended on boristrixdtiodipfrp.ublfc' bixtldinKs during the, last finantSiri year to r; ■ • ‘ Vbtod.-Expended. £ ■ New. buildings . (Class • - ; XVTII public works ’ . - fund) ,364.000 251,431 For the current year the following ■ appropriation, lay-'pfopqaed.t—''; ’ ---. Now bulildings ,f. 310,005 , GENERAL, i ... Under this .heading 'the _ now;,/Parliament Buildings .ofill -accounts -for rtthe heavieat Item, of iexpendituro. • ;Oonsi*Jerixxg the unitaypuratelohabqur. c oondi. tions ruling ait present'fair .progress has been made with Viho work'-: during the past year. ", Subabantiial additions to the Government Printing Office -Ihave, been, completed. ’ 1 ■' JUDICIAL. Courthouses—During the past year no new buildings were erected, but an addition was made to the Courthouse- at-. Napier. . - ■ H--?■-X'nsons—Axx extension ..t0.,, the.,,,south wing of the Auckland Prison! Ms bgen completed and occupied. - The' ndwmortil wing of the Invercargill Prison *has befeif completed, (and; is now ready 'for 005'' cupation. Subdiyisional walls afi Auck-' - laud and the main walls at £ Invercivpgill have been proceeded with, and progress has been made in the erection qf, tho first wing of, tho Paparua Prison buildings at Templeton. During the current year tho major works being, ca»ried on are the buildings at Templeton,; the provision of a kitchen block, offices; and subdivisional walls at .Invercargill,and of an administration block and ’dairy buildings at Waikeria. Police Stations—New' buildings w'evo erected at Waipukurau and Caversham, and a site for a police station was purchased at Devonport. Good progress has been made with tho erection of the new headquarters station at Wellington, which is now nearing completion. Additions to tho Auckland Central Station to provide much-needed office and lock-up accommodation are also in course of construction, POST AND TELEGRAPH. Giving to tho war conditions, expenditure on now buildings and additions and alterntions to existing buildings has been kept down as much as possible. During tho year small post offices were erected at Kaitieke, Ruatorea, Mokau, and Waituna West; and automatic exchanges built at St. Albans and South Dunedin. Additions were made to pay office buildings at Te Awamutu, Hanmer Springs, Waitara, Whakatnne, and Wanganui. In addition to tho appropriations previously authorised but not expended. it is proposed to make provision tor a new post office building at Henderson, a lineman’s cottage at Kuliuknra, a motor garage at Napier, store buildings at Wellington, and alterations anti additions at Ferry; road,"Christchurch. MENTAL HOSPITALS. At Porirua, the,block of buildings designed for receiving and hospital wards is nearly completed, and in its "hospital'' character, ‘ with case' of administration and observation, marks _ a decided advance. A nurses' home is part of this building. ‘ ... A survey has been made and materials have been collected for - piping the septic tank effluent into the harbour. _ ■ At Sunnysido a receiving and hospital block on the same general plan as at Porirua is nearing completion. A further contribution has ■ been made to electrifying tho machinery, and the _ vigilant. automatic fire-alarm system is being installed. An auxiliary farm ot "3S acres has been acquired at pin pieton. At Tokanui the erection or a nurd unit was completed-, and satisfactory progress is being, mado'.on ,a fourth. Ppe • permanent , water-mains, hove replaced tho temporal”.' Service, ; Four additional cottages for the .married, staff are. n*rnrlv At RcltTTi n br'cu lUtclEn has been erected ns .a first instalment to the rebuilding of the 1 institution. The

removal of the old kitchen wul allow the drainage system to bo remodelled to coiiju-oi uurh the new sewer. The. current .year's estimates provide for a substantial contribution to the. scheme for further classification and increase oi accommodation and other urgent works. HOSPITALS. Considerable expenditure is required this year in order to provide tho noocsear.v- facilities at St. Helens Hospitals. Land has boon purchased adjoining St. Helens Hospital. Auckland, on which A is proposed to erect new wards, utilising the present building as an administrative block and nurses’ quarters. It is "proposed to proceed immediately with .the ..erection of mw buildings at Christr . church, and, to erect new wards at tit. Helens Hospital, Dunedin, utilising the present hospital as an administrative block and nurses' quarters. A suitable building hao been, purchased for the - purpose of a St. Helens Hospital at Invercargill, and provision, is made for this expenditure, together with the necessary alterations thereto. Additions are also-required at Townle.y St. Helens Hospital,. Gisborne. , Considerable extension is required to tho" accommodation at present available for consumptives. This has been move especially necessitated owing to institu- . tionril treatment having to be afforded lo returned soldiers. Extensions and ■' ■improvements are required at both Otaki and To Waikato Sanatoria, and this is provided for. An item has also been renewed to enable grants to be made to hospital boards to provide accommodation for consumptives. WORKERS’ DWELLINGS.

Of last year’s vote of £50,000 only £35,457 was expended: there were also liabilities incurred of £295 for dwellings in course of erection and for land tho purchasa of which was being arranged. For tho current year a vote of only £20,000 is proposed, as owing to the high cost of materials it is unlikely that many dwellings will bo erected. DEVELOPMENT OF WATERPOWER. • The Lake Coleridge electrical-powei undertaking has now completed ite second year of operation. Tho maximum load reached 6250 horse-power, which is in excess of the rated capacity of tho three power units then installed at Lake Coleridge. Sine© the completion of me financial year, however, tho fourth unit has been put in service, malting .a total installed capacity of 8000 horse-power. An additional unit of machinery is on order - having a capacity of 40(11)' horsepower, and also, material for a pipe-line. Tb© manufacture of tho turbine and the generator is well advanced, but tjiere is very little prospect of getting delivery of the- pjates for (ho pipeline, and efforts to obtain a permit for the manufacture from the Home authorities have been unavailing. During the year the additional consumers oonnectod compris■od ' the>iCliristchurch Tramway Board, ■the Islington Freezing Works, Borthwick's Works (Belfast), the North Canterbury Farmers' Freezing Works . at Kaiapoi, and two flour mills. .. The' financial results of the year’s 'operations may be considered satisfactory, (and a balance of £7865 was carTie'd to : the/net revenue account. The prospects-for the present year ar.q promising, and there is every indication at present that the undertaking will earn sufficient id meet interest charges and depreciation as weil as working expenses. ■ During the year the feeder lines have be'en extended from Belfats ,to Kaia:poi, - but . owing to the lack of material and other considerations exten-sions-in; other directions have had to be postponed. Urgent requests have been received .from Akaroa, Soutbbridge, leeston. Tiinaru, and other municipalities and districts on the route of the traus- } missionline from Christchurch to Timaru, but it has been - impossible to con:ply with these, requests. The demand -for power threatens to exceed the capacity of the present machinery, and, . having;, regard- to the difficulty of obtaining- delivery of machinery and plant bm'bfderi.-'to cope : witb the demand, the department have declined for the present to enter into fresh contracts of ahymaguitiule. A request has also been ad-. dressed to the. Christghurcli. City Council and other local authorities -taking a supply, from the department to exercise restraint. in making new contracts. In 'order to tide over the difficulty of 'shortage Of plant and to enable the department- to place tho whole of the .machinery in Lake Coleridge in service, a contract is bring negotiated' with tho Christchurch Tramway Board and with tho , Christchurch City Council for tbo use of 'their steam plant for stand-by purposes. During tbs’year considerable progress has been made with the surveys and other preliminary work in connection with the development of hydro-electric works in the North . Island. Surveys have been completed for headworks on tho Maugabao river, at' Arapuni on the Waikato river, and a survey of the transmission line between Shannon and Wellington has been completed, whilst _a -survey of a transmission line between , Auckland and the Waikato river is in progress. ' (investigations have been directed towards determining the best method of providing a general supply of electricity for the North Island. Tho indica--tions-. print to the advisability of de- : veloping three sources—namely, the Wai,kato river, Waikaremoana, and the Man(gahno ,in the south. Other water power sources will, in all probability, bo dcvelopqd in course of time, but tho three sources mentioned above would constitute the principal sources. A start has been made’with the work of ascertaining tho power requirements in the Wellington district, and a systematic canvass is bring made of .the power users and their requirements ascertained. . A total of licenses has been issued during the year for electric light and power purposes. IRRIGATION. Only, minor works in connection with the Ida: alley scheme in Central Otago were, carried out during the year, consisting of a diverting-weir at the Manorburn Dam and the completion and repair of some of the distributlng-raoes. A few settlers in the valley were again supplied wit'll water from the darn for irrigation on a small scale. Considerable ..-progress has been made with tho scheme to serve the country between Alexandra and Clyde_ from tho Manuherikia river. The site of tho intaxe has been fixed, and the- construction ot a tunnel in the river gorge commenced. The locality is particularly rough, and a special service road, with tram-lin© to the intake,.has to be constructed, blow progress is bring made with the excavation .of the main race to lead the water but of' the gorge, and slips on the steep 'hillside are of frequent occurrence. ' V"; TELEGRAPH EXTENSION. During the -past year the extension i>f telegraph -and flelepjjione linos Ena re ~ suited in the opening tof f°ri>‘ offices nrtd ten' now exchanges, too total exoend'fture iumounted . to £203,310. Alconstrucrbion work has been considerably hampered' on .account of the curort supplies of materials 'arid llimited .'toffsiVnfeng- th'o larger works undertaken ivere'd'he conEdmofcion of -the following Unas :—Aifckland-Daa-gavillo M.C., Ham-ilton-Auiekland M.C.. Tanranga-Whaka-tane M.C., Gisborno-OpOtito telephone oir-cuvtl' Wanganui-W rfii ngten aI.L., Gleiiayy-Olvnistcfliurcli M.C., DunedinG'loirrcvy M.C., M'idd,loTGteirch-2\h^TUudi;'i, Autkland-Pukokohe, Stna-tford-Hawera, Wnatotara-Orangimoa 'telephone extensions. .and Cln'idtchnrch-KJaiapoi. Two hundrrid and twelve miles of line and 22GS miles of wire we.ro .added to the telogirniph system, find 465 miles of !uno. .and 13,941 miles of wire to the ■ felepflione . exchange system. The number of triepilrono exchange barneclio-ns increased bv 3547. Underground rabies were put down in several of the, larger towns and arrangements are iii hand ,to exlhend this meriued.

Thirty-nine new slot telephones wars installed .bringing the total in use up to 237» departmental. The total nnmlber of permanent efficc.ra and employees in the Pub.io \VorKs Department on March 31« t, 1817, was 6SO and of 'tfheee ton Wave been OM-chW-dd from 'r*he Expeditionary Eoroo as unfit for native service, and 150 arc either in 'camp or serving 'abroad with the Espeditionay Etorres. The tatfeli 'cr-iisuailtios suffered by <the parmianenifc offices of the deptotmen.. ■=inco the outbreak of war are as follows :-Diod of wounds. 10: died of *i«kness 2; ■wounded, SO; gassed, 1. in place of permanent officers and employees who Wave joined *ho forces, the deoa-’-a-ent has taken on forty-eight officers', meat of whom are employed in a temporary os.pacSty. Tn conclusion the Minister .says; E«fc me rtvto how grrtsMy I appreciate the patriotism of Whose local bodies and certlcits throughout ’the Dominion who kw refrained from pressing their demands fo iPipen’ditnro during the war on "-orks which in normal (times would iM considered very important. I regTrt e-re :liiy;lv ihr t I have not been a ole to do more to relieve mhny cases of lumMiip. especially in the hactblocks; but as coon ais the war is over and our boys return, amp; 2 moans will be then pvariable to provide employment for r.U who need .it. The constnnrtion of roads, bridges and (railways '; iU b ®, r" shc ‘' 1 rhrtul. larjid tbits liabilities • thU bp 'afforded for .incnwfd nnd for ;prodiicsion. Tt is on ‘•neso two factors than New Zealand ' has to deoend to enable »t to bear the uenyy hr Men it has so rendily assumed m aiding the Empire to win tills appalling war.

- : & Hallways— 23,176,465 New construction ... 335.401 additions co »pen 285,513 9,539.536 Roads 2*20,8-15 11,261,098 Public 'buildings 256,131 6,830,681Immigration - 6,533 2,333,272 Purchase of native lands — 2,001,963 Lighthouses, harbour- ' "works, and harbourdefences 3,767 1,140,075. Hourist and! health resorts •* 1,094 258,509 Telegraph extension... 3,207,723 Development of minling 4.592 896,044 Defence works vgen9,742 1,036,977* Departmental 131,701 1,194,651 Development of water power __ 18,451 Irrigation and water euppiy 16,049 20,405 Payment to Midland GEfcilnimy bon-dhold-ere 4 130,000 Lands improvement Or. 2,731 137,770 Minor works and eervidas — 312,607 Plant, material, and stores 9,778 84,1961 Cost and discount, raising loans, dtc. 35 1,233,072! 1,278,483 66,988,468' AVellington-Hutt Railway and Road Improvement Account— Railway Road — 228,374: 101,6581 Railways Improve, ment Account. — 641,275) Railways Improveopent Authorisation Act, 1914, Account... «-225,o97 365,351 Loans to Local Bodies Account—Roads ■ to open up Crown lands 697,408 Opening up Grbwn Lands for Settlement Account — Roads to open up Crown lands 206,626 Land for Settlements Account —Roads to open up Crown lands 1 24,730 165,679 National Endowment Account—-Roads to open up endowment lands 1 6,787 53,401 Aid to Water-power AVorks Account •49,032 336,570 Irrigation and AVatersnpplv Account 4,745 115,000 AValhou and Ohincmnri Rivers Improvement Atconnt 10,407 -*52,592 Telegraph. Extension Account *203,311 203,311 Totals 1,803,092 70,155,713 including £1, cost of raising loan.