TRANSPORT COMMISSION

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 334, 20 April 1928, Page 1

TRANSPORT COMMISSION

LOCAL BODIES’ PROTEST QUESTION OF PERSONNEL LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER Requesting that the personnel of the Motor Transport Commission should include someone who had a personal knowledge and experience of local government conditions in and around Auckland, Mr. S. Gray, the secretary of the recent Local Body Conference held in Auckland, forwarded a letter to the Prime Minister, the Hon. J. G. Coates. The letter, inter alia, stated: —- “In accordance with your request to the deputation which waited on you in regard to motor transport, the local bodies have met in conference to decide on the steps to be taken to present their case to the commission. At such conference I was instructed to write to you in connection with the proposed personnel of the commission. “While the local bodies have not yet received any official intimation as to the constitution of the commission, it has been reported in the Pl-ess that one of the commissioners will be Mr. Goodman, of Adelaide. The local bodies are informed that Mr. Goodman was in charge of the Adelaide tramway undertaking at the time that Mr. Ford, the present general manager of the Auckland tramway undertaking was appointed to the post that he now holds, and that in the Adelaide undertaking Mr. Goodman was Mr. Ford’s superior officer. It is also understood that at the time Mr. Ford took over his duties in Auckland, he stipulated for and brought with him a certain number of administrative officials to act in the Auckland system under his control. “We feel sure that it will be agreed tliat the Auckland transport system, including the Auckland electric tramway undertaking, will virtually be on trial at the hearing of the commission, and the local bodies feel that if the finding of the commission is to create confidence in the public, there should be no possible ground for even a suggestion of any bias even of an unconscious nature attaching to any of the tribunal. It is felt by the local bodies that the system adopted by Mr. Ford is no doubt in conformity with that carried on at Adelaide, the policy of which was probably dictated by Mr. Goodman, so that in the result Mr. Goodman may be virtually called upon to adjudicate upon a system advocated by hiniself. "The local bodies were reluctant to raise this question, and did so most respectfully, actuated solely by what they believe to be the public interest at stake. ,It was hoped that if it was not too late some effect might be given to the suggestion already made.” The subject was placed before the Prime Minister some weeks back, and he stated to a deputation which subsequently waited on him in Wellington consider this suggestion