CITY MEMBERS OF HARBOUR BOARD

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21236, 7 August 1934, Page 18

CITY MEMBERS OF HARBOUR BOARD

♦ ADDING TO NUMBER GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE TO PROPOSAL The altitude of the Government to the Lyttelton Harbour Board's desire to increase the representation of the city of Chrislchureh on the board byone member was revealed by Mr E. J Howard, M.P.. at (he meeting of the board yesterday. Mr Howard said that the Minister for Marine (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) had suggested that the proposal was against the Government's policy. Mr Howard said that with a desire to avoid the expense attendant on the introduction of a local bill into Parliament, he interviewed Mr Cobbe as to the prospect of the Government accepting a clause in this session's Local Legislaion Act, lo amend the first schedule of the Harbours Act, 1023, and increase the city's representation from the present, four to five members. The minister could not agree to the proposal, so the secretary of the board wrote him asking if the Government would support a local bill of the same effect if introduced by the board. The Minister replied that his could not be done, and suggested that the proposal was contrary to the Government's policy.

Present Action

As the board endorsed the proposal for an additional member, both now and in 1924, he had asked Mr H. T. Armstrong, M.P., to bring forward the necessary bill this session, as he intro uced a bill in 1924 sponsored by the Christchurch City Council. That bill purposed an increase of two members—but the board agreed to only one additional member —the present proposal. He suggested that the board should ask all the Canterbury members of Parliament to support the bill, if the board was keen on the matter, as the local body elections 'both urban and county)' were due in May next, and the members then elected would sit for three years. Eeplying to a question by Mr W. J. Walter, who asked why the legislation could not have been included in the Harbours Bill introduced in Parliament by the Government, Mr Howard, said that this bill was not really a Harbours Bill and its title was to be altered. It dealt with a matter which was not so much the concern of the Marine Department as of the Police Department. Emergency Control The Harbours' Association forwarded a copy of the proposed Government bill incorporating certain regulations under the War Regulations Continuance Act, 1920, for the emergency control of wharves.

The secretary (Mi- C. H. Clibborn) said that some provision was necessary in the bill to safeguard the revenues of harbour boards in the event of wharves being taken over in emergencies by the Government. Mr J. W. Bowden said the powers given by the bill were only for emergencies, and would be called into iorce only in the event of a war or riots, or other calamities Mr Howard said that the Auckland wnole bill W3S opposed t0 the

It was left to the three parliamentth£ ? em % ers °f the board to express b^re°X S Z"e. WhenthebillCame