PAYING FOR OUR ROADS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 190, 1 November 1927, Page 1

PAYING FOR OUR ROADS

Petrol Tax of 4d. a Gallon Impost on Motors: aid for Local Bodies

(THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Monday. BY the imposition of a tax of 4d a gallon on petrol used in all machines driven by motor spirit, with but few excep•jons, the Government hopes to collect £720,000 annually, * sum that will be applied to the general improvement and upkeep of main and subsidiary highways throughout the country. The tax will operate on all motor spirit brought into the country from midnight last night.

Minister of Public Works, the 1 l jj on< K. S. Williams, who ex- t the proposals to the House of t E*entatives this evening, estimated i J through the improvement of roads c gjUg the past two years, the main- t Spce on motor-cars generally had fl jjpinished by 25 per cent. This, he c H was the result of a test carried ± with motors used by his departL oV er 100 vehicles being employed KWnrent parts of the country and ,ill conditions. 'kt Williams said that the necessity Egltoeting more revenue for the upL of roads arose from the heavy inEfe in motor traffic during recent IJs, and the fact that the funds Bwkio for main highways were inadequate for requirements for Eliatenance of the high standard S| traffic demanded. It was comby some of those bodies con- j gating to the main-highways funds sJthe money was being spent on Erf roads to the detriment of subsiEr roads, while larger motorists in Kgotind cities were desirous of Si* better surfaced roads adjacent ONE BIG SCHEME ft wa« considered more desirable by 0 authorities to have a general Lwm> of a comprehensive nature that jold do the work thoroughly than mral local schemes which would || result in having several uncongted links throughout the Dominion. The cost of maintaining roads had risen from £sl in 1924 to £lll lift year through the increase in cere* and smaller local bodies had represented to the Government that they could not maintain their portions at a good standard. Mr. H. E. Holland: Will boroughs it something out of this? Mr. Williams: Yes: they will get jmething. It is proposed that 121 r cent, of the money collected will l devoted to a sinking fund for loans lised on road works as it is considred wise to have a fairly rapid repayisnt scheme on account of the uncertainty of the life of any road work. Better roads mean saving in upkeep not only in tyres but in the life of a car, and the consumption of benzine. Exemptions will be made by rebate m supplies for launches, stationary ■fines and industries such as dryleaning. ALLOCATION OF FUND Mr. Williams explained that of the 1720,000 which it was hoped to collect % per cent, was required to keep the (resent highways in order, 25 percent, j Ruld go to secondary highways that s rare to be taken over, 12 £ per cent. 9 the sinking fund, 4 per cent, for _ Bailer local boroughs, 25 per cent, to i better-roading scheme adjacent to j He cities and larger boroughs, and 8 A *r cent, for cities themselves. Pour per cent, might seem a small c ttount for small boroughs, but this t lure had been assessed after a care- v W analysis of the position. Mr. Lee Martin, Raglan: Where does 1 ■•man in the backblocks come in? t .Mr, Williams: The 25 per cent, that j, [ being devoted to them will mean • percent, of tfie 30 per cent, subsidy Broads for which they are giving no- t Ing at all. f Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the OpBition, said that he hoped that when “ ■ Bill Was brought down plenty of I lie would be given for the constitutes to state their views. There had r *n a demand for a petrol tax, but f !'*■ to be in place of the tyre-tax, c Wbe predicted that there would be f PlMrly loud outcry against the pro- c l*d additional taxation. He agreed lb the Minister, however, that a con- t PB&le amount would be saved car € |Py» in wear and tear on tyres and a •jjstrol consumption. c Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Prime Bister, said that it was essential that

legislation should be introduced, and the resolution before the House this evening was a forerunner of the Bill that would be introduced by the Minister of Public Works giving detailed distribution of the money that would be raised and an outline of the position as it would affect the motorists and dwellers in the country and the cities. Smaller boroughs would be relieved of a certain proportion of the cost of maintaining roads through their districts. Eight per cent, of the amount raised, equal to about £60,000, would be allocated to boroughs of a population of 6,000 and over, and this would work out in the case of Wellington City, for instance, to £IO,OOO or £12,000. The Prime Minister added that £ 350,000 would be set aside for the construction and maintenance of roads leading from cities, such as the Hutt road. “The motorist is demanding better roads, and so are the settlers and the

public,’* continued Mr. Coates. It was for Parliament to say whether the cost should be put on the shoulders of those best able to bear it. It might be called an increase in taxation, but it meant a more equitable contribution by the motorists toward the upkeep of the roads they used. Mr. H. E. Holland: What will be the position if petroleum is readily produced in New Zealand? Mr. Coates: I don’t think it will affect the position at all. There is no provision for preference. Mr. Coates added that the Government had considered the question of the removal of the tyre-tax, but had come to the conclusion that such action would have necessitated an increased petrol-tax. . In reply to an interjection he said that farming machinery would be exempted though he was not certain about tractors, which had not yet been considered. HOSTILE CRITICISM Criticism from the Opposition benches took a hostile tone, Mr. Wilford advancing the view that the additional tax would be too heavy a load for the motorist. In this he was supported by the Hon. D. Buddo, Kaiapoi, who warned the Government that it was going too fast, and prophesied that horses would soon be in better demand through the driving of motor-lorries off the road. Mr. D. G. Sullivan, Avon, wondered what would happen when the motorists of the Dominion woke up in the morning and found that a bombshell of this sort had been dropped on them. Mr. T. K. Sidey, Dunedin South, contended that the time was appropriate for the removal of the tyre-tax. The rate of increase in county councils’ expenditure on the roads was urged by the Hon. A. D. McLeod, Minister of Lands, in justification of the new tax. He pointed out that for the year just ended local-body expenditure had increased by over £IOO,OOO, and unless something were done they would not be able to keep up with the increasing maintenance costs. The tax would help them to the extent of an additional £200,000 yearly. While owning to a fairly high estimate of the morality of his fellowman, Mr. J. A. Lee, Auckland East, confessed that he would look with some amusement upon a man who, owning a launch and a motor-car, was so anxious to contribute toward the cost of roads that he would not occasionally tak'e some of his duty-free launch spirit for use in his car. The difficulty of preventing abuse of exemptions was stressed by other Opposition speakers, who carried on the discussion until after 12.30 a.m.. preventing the debate of the Public iVorks Statement and estimates. Then the discussion was carried on by Government members until 2.20 a.m., when the House adjourned.