D.—2.

1939. NEW ZEALAND.

RAILWAYS STATEMENT (BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. D. G. SULLIVAN).

Mr. Speaker,— This is the fourth occasion on which I have had the pleasure and privilege of submitting the Railways Statement to Parliament, and the third since the Government Railways Amendment Act of 1936 again placed responsibility for the administration of the railways with the Government through the Minister of Railways and the General Manager. In the three full years of my association with and responsibility for railwayadministration I have been fortunate enough to see come to successful fruition some portion of the long-range railways policy enunciated by the present Government upon coming into office. That policy was one calling for foresight and courage in handling the whole transport situation in the general interests of public welfare, and I would like to express my appreciation of the co-operation which has existed between my Department and the Department of Transport in advancing that policy —a course which is now seen to react beneficially on the Dominion's whole economic fabric. NATIONAL SERVICE. The results of the railway year just ended cannot be properly or fully assessed unless they are credited with service to the Dominion much greater than that revealed by the financial position of the undertaking as a whole. This lias, of course, been recognized as a feature in the State-owned railway system right from its inception and has coloured the policy of every Government, not only regarding the allocation of lines to suit the requirements of the various productive areas in the Dominion, but also in the arrangement of tariff charges which have always been based with national considerations paramount over purely railway-earning considerations. Although this fact has been known and recognized throughout the years, it is worth while emphasizing again at the present time, particularly in view of the Government's general policy of economic development, which includes a better balancing of the scales as regards the Dominion's primary and secondary industries. Not only was it necessary to put the railways into the position where they could supply " the best possible service at the lowest possible cost," but this had to be done as speedily as possible in order to keep pace with the Government's drive for national recovery —a movement which included, of course, the assurance of opportunities for useful employment for all capable of work within the Dominion, and covering also the opening of new avenues for the coming generation. RAILWAYS POLICY. The railways policy also called for a broad survey of the additional possibilities for service which lay open to the national transportation system, and this required a close examination of the whole position from the technical and expert viewpoints, as well as from the viewpoint of what might be suitable and desirable in the public interest.

i—D. 2.