RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 808, 31 October 1929, Page 6

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION

NEW LINES SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED MR. COATES’S PLEA THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Wed. A plea for consideration of the effect on operating railways of the construction of new lines was once more made in the House today by the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, during the course of the debate on the Public Works Statement. He also reiterated his former plea for investigation of all lines proposed to be constructed. Mr. Coates said that the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, proposed this year to increase expenditure on the construction of railways by £600,000, compared with figures of past years. This meant acceleration of railw’ay‘works in the Dominion, and it was a question whether it would be wise to accelerate works in view of the fact that expenditure on roads was reaching the same figure as that on the railways. He repeated his suggestion that political influence should be divorced from railway management. To Mr. H. G. R. Mason (Auckland Suburbs), who asked for specific instances of where politics had interfered with management, Mr. Coates said that no one had ever been given the job of running the railways. He thought a directorate similar to that in Canada would be the most democratic and soundest method of control. Mr. Coates claimed that one thing that had made him hesitate over the South Island Main Trunk was the factor of cost. He recognised that there was a developmental side, but the question of cost of the operating side had to be considered. The operating railways should not be called upon to bear an impossible load. He suggested that there was plenty of time to examine all the lines to be constructed. The Leader of the Labour Party, H. E. Holland: What puzzles me is that you did not take that stand when you were in office. Mr. Coates: The honourable gentleman is always puzzled. He’s been very puzzled during the past few days. (Laughter.) Mr. Holland: You’re a Chinese puzzle. MR. HOLLAND AMAZED Mr. Holland followed and said that he was amazed at the record of inconsistency put up by Mr Coates. It was a time to expect consistency from public men. (Laughter from Reform.) He reproached Mr. Coates strongly on his inconsistency regarding the South Island lines, and said that Mr. Coates had somersaulted over the South Island Main Trunk. Mr. Holland was of the opinion that the country could not afford to abandon the idea of linking up different centres by railway lines. They were better for long-distance haulage. Mr. Coates had asked for investigations of the lines, and yet he had gone ahead without investigation, when his party had pledged itself to the construction of the Midland line. The late Mr. Massey would not have gone back on the promise he had made on the construction of the railway as Mr. Coates had done. Regarding the present Government’s proposals Mr. Holland said that where work was a necessity he would vote for it, and he considered the Midland and South Island Main Trunk lines as necessary as any of the North Island works on the -Estimates. He appealed to North Island Reform members to lose the parochial point of view. Mr. Holland was in favour of the construction of the Paeroa-Pokeno line and extension of the line from Taneatua to Opotiki. Both lines were thoroughly justified. MINISTER’S REPLY In replying the Minister referred to the statement of Mr. Coates that expenditure on railway construction this year was £600,000 greater than last. Mr. Ransom said that the point had to be taken into consideration whether money, and a proportionate number of men, should remain idle or whether railway works should be made more productive. Mr. Coates had mentioned competition of roads with railways, but he had not said anything about whether some railways should lapse in favour of roads. It might be necessary to replace some branch lines with road services, hut in the main Mr. Ransom -was of the opinion that branch lines would justify thenexistence. With regard to commercialisation, Mr. Coates had asked whether the railways were to be regarded as a commercial proposition alone. If one were allowed to regard them as a commercial proposition to be run at a profit, then one was doing something not in the interests of the Dominion. He regarded railways not only as a means of transport to earn interest on capital expenditure, but also as a means of developing a young country which already owed a great deal to the railways for its growth. The Minister of Justice, the Hon. T. M. Wilford: The railways should be the servants of the people and not masters. Mr. Ransom repeated the view that the railways were best for long distances, and thought that all gaps in long lines should be linked up. He said that requests had been made to him for special subsidiary roads for stock. The linking up of railway lines would do away with the problem the subsidiary roads desired. He was glad to hear Mr. Coates concur in the view that the railways should not bear the w-hole cost, aud that a certain amount of capital expenditure be written off. Mr. Coates: The whole speech so far is a misrepresentation. Mr. Ransom said that it w-as what he understood Mr. Coates to say. Regarding points made by Mr. Holland in connection with the small amounts for Inangahua- Westport and South Island lines, Mr. Ransom said Mr. Holland must admit that the real point was not the placing of items on the Estimates, but the amount expended. At the end of the speech Mr. Coates claimed that the Minister had failed to grasp the point of his speech which w-as the reason for his taking him up as he had.