LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23080, 24 July 1940, Page 8

LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTIONS

Postponement Under

Consideration

CABINET SEEKS VIEWS OF ASSOCIATIONS

tfRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.)

AUCKLAND, July 23

The opinion of local body associations as to whether local,authority elections should be postponed during the war, is being sought by the Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) to enable the Cabinet to reach a decision on the question. The Auckland Harbour Board decided after considerable discussion to refer the matter to the board in committee, with power to act.

The secretary of the Harbours’ Association of New Zealand (Mr A. G. Barnett) forwarded to the board a copy of a letter from the Minister on the subject, and asked that an opinion should be given as soon as possible, either from the board’s meeting or by the chairman after ascertaining the views of members. In his letter Mr Parry stated that local body elections with few exceptions were to be held in May, 1941. Representations had been made to the Government that they should be postponed during the war. The Statutes Amendment Act, 1939, gave power to postpone them for one year, but expired on December 31 next. The legislation had been passed and the present representations were based on the grounds that it was undesirable to divide the people on political issues by elections of this type during a period such as the country was passing through. The Cabinet had given preliminary consideration to the representations, but it was of the opinion that before a final decision was reached the views of the bodies affected should be obtained.

His own viewpoint was that the elections should be postponed during the war. He knew that they were not postponed during the last war, hut they were perhaps not regarded with the same prominence as to-day. They were not all held at the same time as at present. Members of local body associations might be reluctant to give their views, as they were personally affected; the Minister added. He would atfc them to forget, their individual positions and form a collective viewpoint expressing the general mind of the associations.