HARBOUR CONTROL

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22343, 5 March 1938, Page 10

HARBOUR CONTROL

* MAKING GREYMOUTH BOARD ELECTIVE (PEESB ISSOCUTtOH TBI.BOBUIJ WELLINGTON, March 4. The Greymouth Harbour Board Reconstitution Bill, which provides 'or a change from appointed to elective membership of the board, was passed without opposition in the House oi Representatives to-day. The Minister for Marine (the Hon. P. Fraser) in moving the second reading of the bill, said that for many years the board had been an appointed one, and had incurred a loan liability of £260,000. Each year previous Governments had agreed to subsidise the board to the imount of about £12.000. but in 1935 the Government and the board both agreed that it was time to stop that arrangement. Accordingly an agreement was arrived at under which the Government assumed responsibility tor the loan liability, and the question of an annual subsidy was dropped entirely. It was also agreed that the board should be elective, with no more Government representatives than any ordinary harbour board. It had been found at that time that it was not possible to embody the proposals for making the board elective, by legislation, but that provision was contained in the bill before the House. The Hon J. G. Cobbe (National, Oroua), who was Minister for Marine in the last Government, said that Mr Fraser had stated the position very fairly. He did not think there, could be any opposition to the bill in the Mr J. O'Brien (Government. Westland) said that the bill was welcomed by the people of the district, since u gave democratic control of harbour affairs, which was preferable to the previous state of affairs.