CONTROL OF RAILWAYS

Otago Witness, Issue 4029, 2 June 1931, Page 61

CONTROL OF RAILWAYS

A CURIOUS SITUATION BOARD NOT YET APPOINTED. WELLINGTON, May 31. A peculiar situation has developed in regard to the control of the New Zealand railways in that, although the Government Railways Amendment Act of this year comes into force to-morrow, the system has been left without a controlling authority on account of the fact that the personnel of the new board established by the Act has not been completed. While the difficulty is not likely to prove insurmountable, the fact remains that control of the railways passes out of the hands of the State to-morrow, and even the genera) manager loses certain important statutory authority. It was generally expected that the Government Railways Board would be ap appointed some time ago. The selection ®f the members was placed in the hands of the Prime Minister, and he has received a very large number of applications for seats on the board from all parts of the Dominion. In spite of this, it is understood that the Prime Minister has experienced considerable difficulty in ehoosing suitable men, and for this reason he has been unable to announce the personnnel' before now. When the Railways Bill was introduced in Parliament during the emergency session no date for the change-over in the system of control was mentioned. When, however, the second reading debate was initiated, the Prime Minister brought down several amendments, one of which stipulated that the board should function from June 1. It was stated at the time that this would allow plenty of time for the selection of board members and the completion of the incidental arrangements for the change in control. Shortly after applications began to pour in to the Government for positions on the board. It is understood that the Government also approached one or two men who, it was considered, would be capable of carrying out the responsibilities entailed. As a result of the passing of the Act, “all the powers, duties, and functions of the Minister, general manager, and the permanent head of the department under the principal Act or any other Act ” are transferred to the board. The powers of the Minister, in particular, are considerably curtailed, and he is left with practically no authority at all, and none so far as the administration of the system is concerned. The Minister of Finance retains a certain amount of influence in the monetary affairs of the board, but for all practical purposes, as from tomorrow, the board is vested with control of the actual working of the railways staff and with the policy of the department. The general manager derives his executive power from the board, but there being no board at the moment, he is temporarily deprived of effective authority. It is not likelv that the Government, will allow this situation to continue very Tong, and it is possible that the Prime Minister will announce the personnel of the new board within the very near future.