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national point of view has taken place, and will still take place, until the futulre development of the country is put on a more rational basis. Particular emphasis may also be given to the hitherto uncontrolled use of land without any regard to the serious consequences now becoming apparent in the form of accelerated erosion. 9. WORKS PLANNING In view of the fact that in a country like New Zealand the Government is called upon to take a major part in development, 'the responsibility falls upon the Government now to take the lead in resolving the position as it stands. With this end in view and as a first step, major proposals coming to the Ministry of Works have, after a preliminary scrutiny, been assembled in regional schedules and illustrated on large-scale regional maps. As completed, these are being given to Regional Councils and local authorities who have been asked to consider them, and, in collaboration with the Government, to prepare in each region a plan for physical development to which the Government will adhere and to which local authorities will also subscribe. Project maps and schedules, as referred to above, have been made public in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, North Canterbury, Central Otago, and in the Waikato area, by the Hon. the Minister of Works; copies of the project maps are contained in Appendix B to this report. -Maps and schedules relating to other areas are being prepared and will be made public in the near future. The projects shown are, of course, national and regional in their significance, and whilst the decisions in regard to national works such as hydro-electric supply must lie in the hands of the central Government, there is no reason why the views of regional authorities should not be sought in regard to all works which may affect the development of the region. This is in accord with the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee which recently reported on local government. This Committee reported, inter alia:— We are convinced that for the effective development of the economic and social resources of the JDominion it is important to utilize the local knowledge and local loyalties in various parts of New .Zealand. This can best be done by the Regional Planning Councils which have been set up in recent months, and we recommend that this movement be given every encouragement. In announcing works plans in the regional areas the Minister has given information of works national in character, realizing that the construction of large national undertakings must affect many people, particularly business people and local authorities, during the time of construction. Works of regional significance have largely originated from the local authorities themselves, and the Minister's intention in announcing these is to ascertain from regional authorities the order in which they consider works should be carried out and whether or not they wish to make alterations to the proposed schedule of works. Further, the publication of works of regional significance does enable the local authorities and private interests to know what the Government has in view so that they can plan their own developments with some assurance. There can be no doubt of the great value of making public-the schedules and maps which have been prepared to show concisely Government and localbody proposals for each region. Those which have been completed and

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