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and are unlikely to do so generally until civil aviation has developed considerably. Moreover, the cost of constructing modern aerodromes is beyond the financial capacity of many municipalities. Only in the United States have the bulk of the civil aerodromes been provided by the municipalities concerned, and even in the United States the Federal Government have now had to take a hand. The problem is partly analagous with the provision of roads, and there appears to be no escape from the conclusion that a country such as New Zealand can only be equipped with the aerodromes which it needs if the responsibility is shouldered by the State. Unless the State is prepared to finance the provision of air route and aerodrome organisation required for the national air transport plan, there must inevitably be discordance. There will be failure to provide the essential aerodrome requirements in some places, and maybe uneconomic over-provision in others. 309. If the State accepts the responsibility for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the aerodromes, there appears to be no virtue in divided ownership of the land, and we recommend that the land required for aerodromes in the national programme should be acquired by the State and administered by the Civil Aviation Directorate. In this we recognise that Government should determine the extent to which aerodromes meet a national requirement, and that outside the national programme of aerodrome construction, there will be local needs. Such needs could be met by local or private enterprise, and we recommend that there should be freedom for the development of aerodromes in this way under the technical control of a licensing system such as exists today, and subject to normal control of the finances of local bodies. 310. We are far from advocating that local authorities should have no interest in the aerodrome which serves their city or locality. On the contrary, we think it highly desirable and necessary, particularly in a country such as New Zealand, where there is a vigorously developed local consciousness and initiative. Least of all would we advocate anything which would retard development already undertaken or contemplated by local authorities which would contribute to the national plan, pending a settlement of the policy and of general principles governing the participation of local authorities. 311. The appropriate field of activity for local authorities at a State aerodrome is in all those matters which directly affect the public using or visiting the aerodrome. With complete national planning, the local authorities will be unable to contribute to or influence greatly the operational services, including the aerodrome itself and its technical equipment and services. These will all conform to the national plan. There are a number of services, however, in which local authorities can