LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26265, 9 November 1950, Page 3

LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS

CITIZENS OPEN CAMPAIGN

SPEECHES BY NINE CANDIDATES euntv h^l? e e tha j the Labour Party was the Citv f Cn raUd > ln lta statements on Section. Councll and Tramway Board North s made by Mr H. A. C. so?Uti’n„ C ' rrnan , of the Citizens’ AsOMnS? th» Benera ? c 9 mm 'ttee, when he na^f d i th ® as sociation’s election camevenino' “fe Kl }2 x Church hall last mis st^orr, Wh . en .u hey make deliberate them,’ ? h™aid. there 1S n ° exCUSe for :J? ayora i candidate, Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon, and eight candidates for to?hty° n J he £ lty Council, North CanbomurK Ho jP ltal B° ar d. Lyttelton HarCatchment'n and North Canterbury catchment Board were speakers. Excluding candidates, among them did not speak ' 62 elect a ”®" d ® d . t *>e tneeting, and the attendance dwindled after one hour and a tlnd untll at J2 15 pm " the tota l attendance was 57. 'ln the records of the association we have a record wherein Mr J. N. Clarke promised that he would abide by the decision of the ballot to select a Mayoral candidate and not stand, if not selected, for the mayoralty on this occasion,’ said Mr North. “Mr Clarke u ? broken not only his verbal promise but his written word. A vote for Mr Clarke is a vote thrown away. He splits the vote between the two main —th® Citizens' and Labour.” Mr R. M. Macfarlane, the Labour candidate, was a member of Parliament and a former Mayor, and he evidently wanted a second dividend, said Mr North. The Labour Party election brochure, he understood, was prepared by Mr T. H. McCombs, M.P it referred to dissension in the Citizens’ Association. The Labour Party was not without dissension. Between the Trade Union Congress and the Federation of labour not much love was lost. Although from some points of view the dissension in the Citizens’ Association was deplorable, the point was that even if the full ticket was elected, the members of local bodies would not all think alike.

Committee Attendances There was ■ nothing very wrong in the wives of Labour members of Parliament standing for local bodies but it was an attempt to capitalise on names, he said. The qualifications of the candidates were not very high and the Labour Party had found it necessary to call for the assistance of the rejected member for the Oamaru electorate, who found it desirable to intrude into the local affairs of Christchurch. There was a time when Labour was strong on one man —one job; that had been thrown overboard. The main work of the City Council was done in committee. In three years Cr. Macfarlane had attended 27 of the 66 meetings of the finance committee, 35 of 52 of the reserves committee and 16 of 42 of the baths committee. Cr. J. Mathison had attended 13 of 43 meetings of the electricity committee, 12 of 48 of

the town planning committee, and 24 of 65 of the traffic committee. It would be very interesting to know whether Cr. Mathison was a resident of Christchurch or Wellington. Cr. Macfarlane. he suggested, would prove a “week-end Mayor,” as he had said: “Elect me and a good deputy-Mayor and I will carry on.” “It is most unfortunate that Labour is attempting to introduce national politics,” said Mr North, “I am a member of the National Party, and very proud of the fact, but the general idea of the Citizens’ Association is to select candidates and, when they are elected to leave them to their own judgments.” The Prime Minister was a vice-president long before he entered Parliament. Mr North added that he was a member of a local body and was never interfered with, as were the Labour candidates.

The Labour Party had made much of the trouble the Citizens’ Association had a little while ago and said, in its brochure, that the association worked for big business. It suggested that the association so arranged matters that the increased rates were pushed on to the general public and the business area was excluded. “That is a wicked and deliberate lie ” said Mr Nprth. “Whoever made it knew that the rates were based on valuations toy the Valuation Department when Labour was the Government.”

“Better and Brighter City” For a number of years, he Jiad tried in his quiet way to serve 'the city, said Mr Mac Gibbon. Electors were asked to compare the personal message in his pamphlet with that of the brochure of the Labour candidate. All deplored another circular, in which he had no part. The desire was to make Christchurch a better and brighter city. The City Council was one of the largest businesses in the city and he looked upon himself as a pospective chairman of his co-direc-tors. The revenue of the council last year was £1,767,000. If the money was to be spent justly, men of business experience were needed to give ratepayers value for their money. Christchurch, compared with other cities, was in a fortunate financial position, with about £2,000,000 surplus of assets over liabilities. The council had 216 employees on the administrative side and 884 on the outside staff. The Labour brochure urged the replacement of the present council. The answer was the work done in the last three years. He gave details of work. The City Council was not just a place where men talked. It was a hard working place, working for the good of the city. Denying a charge by Mr Macfarlane that the Citizens’ Association was a part of the National Party, Mr MacGibbon said the association was a body which selected candidates who, w’hen elected, voted according to their judgment. They did not want me city to be governed by the Federation of Labour or the “people in Gloucester street” Although he was a vicepresident, Mr Holland had never attended a meeting of the Citizens’ Association. How could any Labour councillor stop the rise in the cost of living as Mr Macfarlane had suggested? Every member of the Citizens’ team would endeavour to carry out the declared policy. Some of the questions had been contentions, one was amalgamation. “When I refer to Greater Christchurch. I mean Greater Christchurch.” said Mr Mac Gibbon. “I see no reason why the built-up areas around the city should not come into the city. I believe they will come in. We have pledged ourselves that whatever action the Government takes, whether one poll or several polls are held, we will co-operate in full with the Government and the local bodies to expedite a larger measure of control in the Greater Christchurch areas.” “Old School Tie” The question of the old school tie and the residence of candidates in Fendalton had been raised by Labour, said Mr J. R. Smith, a City Council candidate. He had been educated at the East Christchurch School and Technical College. If he lived in Fendalton, it was because he had worked really hard over the last 30 years. If Mr Nordmeyer and others in the Labour Party had worked half as hard, they would probably also be living in Fendalton. He was not a member of the Citizens’ Association and he was proud to be selected to stand with other candidates. He had studied the Citizens’ housing policy and he commended it as a master builder. Mrs J. E. Mackay “took the meeting on a tour of the hospital.” giving figures to illustrate the extension of the activities of the Hospital Board. Christchurch was the onlv hospital in New Zealand to give a 24-hour orthopaedic service. The plastic unit at Burwood was equal to any in the world. Board members were conscious of the upward trend of costs. In 10 years, maintenance costs had risen from £240.000 to £763 000. food costs from £17.000 to £41.000 and salaries and wages from £53 000 to £1.14.000 Christchurch had been well bv the present board under the chairmanship of Mr V. C Lawn. Great progress had been made. The claims of the patients had come before everything else. Loans For Capital Works Mr H P- Smith, a City Council candidate said he wanted to throw in Mr Nordmeyer’s teeth the cheap jibe