M. Thomson said he understood the desirc to emphasize the attention given to the Port. He would rather choose someone from the commercial community as Chairman and let the Committee put up its ideas to the Secretary for Transport.
The Hon. Mr. Kenniff suggested that attention at a high level would be given to Port and other matters if the Secretariat were sub-divided and each section allocated a schedule of subjects, the Assistant Secretary in charge of each section being responsible directly to the Financial Serretary and the Colonial Secretary.
The Hon. Mr. Kenniff's Views.
Mr. Kenniff said that as a newcomer he had read with interest all that had been said in the papers circulated to the Committeo, but he had not found the answer to the question which he had been asking, namely what was wrong in the past and therefore asked, why make any changes?
The main reasons which had been put forward for the erection of a Port Trust were (a) the need for separate accounts being kept and (b) the need for a separate Engineering Department, and he could see no need for the establishment of a Port Trust for these or any other reasons at all. It might be necessary to apply a feather duster or a vacuum cleaner to his department, but he suggested that there had been no serious lack of co-ordination in the past. Nothing could be done unless we had plans for the future,
On the actual day-to-day working of the Port he was inclined to agree with Mr. Roberts. There was possibly a need for a co-ordinator, but he would call him a Port Manager as in some of the other Colonies, rather than a Port Director, who would manage the Port and see that the Port ran smoothly. He would not be concerned so much with future development that would take care of itself if a plan were agreed upon.
He was doubtful as to whether the Port Manager should be the head of a separate department. It was possible that the Pori Manager could be on the staff of the Harbour Master. He thought there was much useful work for a Port Manager to do here.
With regard to port works, there seemed to be a wrong impression abroad. The Fort Works Office was a part of the Public Works Depart- ment and he took full responsibility for its administration. New port works that were suggested would be considered by him as the Director of Public Works and he would carry out the work Government directed him to do.
Commodore Everett's Views.
Commodore Everett said he did not favour a Port Trust because he could not see any advantage in imposing top weight on a machine already carrying out the proposed duties. As the Hon. Mr. Kenniff had suggested, a brush-up might be needed and he suggested the application of some "cil" to get the machine working more smoothly. He thought the work should be done in stages.
The first stage should be the decision stage decisions must be based on an overall plan. The second stage would be the intermediate stage, when we should go ahead on the overall plan. At the same time he would like to see the appointment of a Port Director, assisted by a strong Advisory Committee as proposed by the Hon. Mr. Roberts, and the Port Director should be next in status immediately below the Colonial Secretary.
No comments yet.
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