PUBLIC WORKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 September 1938, Page 7

PUBLIC WORKS

MR J. ROBERTSON ON LABOUR’S ADMINISTRATION. ADDRESS AT RONGOKOKAKO. Speaking to a very friendly audience of residents of Rongokokako last night, Mr J. Robertson, Labour candidate for Masterton, outlined the progress made under the Labour administration during the last three years. Marked efficiency in the Public Works programme of the Dominion was an outstanding feature of the Labour administration, said Mr Robertson. On the whole, public works had been carried out at one-third of the cost entailed under the previous Government. In the case of the Nelson aerodrome the cost was one-fifth of the estimate. Mr Robertson said that it could quite easily be proved that no previous government had anything like this record. This was not a matter of opinion and therefore subject to prejudices, but hard facts that could be verified by anybody who cared to look up the figures. Referring to the Mohaka viaduct job Mr Robertson said he was able to quote the actual figures. The public works estimate for this job was £23,000, but under Mr Semple’s administration the actual cost was £13,000, and this was achieved under increased wages and shorter hours. Many critics maintained that everything had been made easy for them, said Mr Robertson, but that was not so. They were left with a heritage of depleted gear, stocks, and technical workers. Mi’ Robertson said that his Party was charged with destroying enterprise in the building industry because the Government housing programme was an octopus that gobbled up all building business. The answer to this charge was simple and complete. The facts were that in 1935 there were 2892 building permits issued and in 1938 there were 6043 issued. Mr Robertson said that taking the figure 100 as a mean, consumption of all commodities was 94 in 1935 and 130 in 1938 and those figures definitely spelt prosperity. Mr Robertson said that he would like to remind electors, and the farming community in particular, that at no previous time in our history had a comparable prosperity been achieved with interest rates being kept as low as they were today. Mr Syd. Smith was in the chair and the candidate was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks.