IMPROVEMENT OF HARBOUR

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27404, 17 July 1954, Page 9

IMPROVEMENT OF HARBOUR

RATE FOR SCHEME OPPOSED i DECISION OF ASHBURTON j COUNTY COUNCIL ; A decision to oppose a rate as secur- ' ity for a proposed loan for improve- . ments to the Lyttelton harbour was ' made at the meeting of the Ashburton ; County Council yesterday. The coun- ‘ cil’s decision will be sent to the Lyttelton Harbour Board and Mr R. G. : Gerard. M.P. The Lyttelton Harbour Board wrote : advising the council that it proposed to promote legislation to empower it to borrow money for enlargement, of the harbour, at an estimated cost of £3,500,000. Authority was to be sought to take power to strike a rate to provide revenue to meet the annual charges on the loan funds. Legislation would not be promoted this year, but when the draft was approved by the board it would be sent to local bodies in the board’s electoral district and the appropriate Government departments for study and investigation. It looked as though the counties would be outvoted by the city of Christchurch if a poll was held on the question of harbour improvement, said the chairman (Cr. J. Davidson). The only thing the Ashburton County Council could do was to see that as many ratepayers as possible went to the poll. He was opposed to any proposal that a flat rate should be struck over the board’s area as security for a loan for harbour improvement. “If the Christchurch city has a rate of Ad in the £, we shoulcbbe id in the £,” he said. Cr. A. ’G. Rawlinson: We should be id. The chairman: The rate should be graded. It is unfair that there should be a flat rate. He said that Mr P. J. Mowat (Fairton), who was a member of the Lyttelton Harbour Board, had put up a strong case against a loan at the present time. He had been consistent, and he had Messrs McMillan and McAlpine with him at one time. Cr. H. C. B. Withell: They were not present at the last meeting of the board. The chairman said the council had expressed its opposition to a rate before and he did not whether it ■ was any good reaffirming that op- - position. If a poll was taken there ■ would be 71 per cent, of ratepayers • in the city voting against 29 per cent. 1 in the county. “You can give a guess ' as to how they will vote,” he said. 1 Cr. E. S. Barnes suggested that it • might be admisable to wait until the ; council received a copy of the s?ro- - posed legislation and to make a pro--1 test then if it incorporated a flat rate ’ as security for the proposed loan. : The county clerk (Mr C. Campbell) 5 said the council had never said out--5 right, in a strong manner, that it was opposed to a rate. Cr: Taylor: We can reaffirm it in 5 strong language and I move that we 1 do it now. Seconding the motion, Cr. Rawhn- ’ son said the council should take the view that it was definitely opposed to It was decided to write to Mr Mowat • expressing the council’s appreciation 1 of the stand he had taken.