UNJUSTIFIED EXPENDITURE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20955, 7 November 1939, Page 6

UNJUSTIFIED EXPENDITURE

At a cost of £70,000 for building and equipment a State commercial broadcasting station is to be erected at Auckland. This decision at a time of emergency such as the present is beyond comprehension, and it is not surprising that the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. A. Hamilton, has protested most emphatically. Whatever might be said of such a project in normal times, there is no justification for it now, and the Government would be well advised to postpone the work in the meantime. So far it has given only very unconvincing justification for the expenditure. When so little sterling exchange is available for the importation of essential goods and when private businesses are being wrecked because they cannot import, is it reasonable to import with the authority of the State the materials and equipment required for such a costly station? And when people throughout the country are suffering serious hardship and unnecessary expense because of the notorious shortage of houses, how can the Government justify the employment of a large number of men and great quantities of material in the construction of a building which by any stretch of imagination cannot be regarded as an essential? Further, when the country is facing the direst financial stringency and the Government is imposing an almost intolerable burden of taxation upon the people to keep the ordinary affairs of State in operation, what reason can the Government give for this expenditure of £70,000? If the new broadcasting station were capable of performing any useful wartime service, the public would view the project with some sympathy, but, as it is, the man in the street is simply putting his hand in his pocket and depriving himself and his family of muchneeded money—for what purpose? The man who finds the money has a right to inquire into its expenditure, and if the Government is wise it will respect the undoubted feeling of resentment at such an unwarranted waste of money and effort. The Minister’s explanation that the present accommodation is not approved by the health authorities does not, when the value of the station is considered, excuse the expenditure of £70,000 at the present time.