DRAINAGE BOARD WORK

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28606, 7 June 1958, Page 4

DRAINAGE BOARD WORK

Chairman Replies To Member Criticism of the Christchurch Drainage Board made during the recent election by a Labour member of the board, Mr A. J. Smith, was replied to by Mr G. A. G. Connal, who was re-elected chairman by -the first meeting of the new board. Mr Connal said that Mr Smith had been reported as saying that the board had “done a little bit here and a little bit there.” He had said that the new sewage treatment works would cost between £3 million and £4 million, and that some members who had taken a leading part in the board’s programme were not seeking re-election. - “He implied that they were deserting a sinking ship, whereas the five members all had long service on the board and good reasons for retiring,” Mr Connal said. The cost of the sewage treatment works was about £1 million, he said. During the last three years, the board had entered into the biggest contracts in its history, Mr Connal continued. Members could judge for themselves whether the work achieved was “a little bit here and a little bit there.” The policy of the last three years would be the policy the board would follow in the next three y£ars, he said. With the reorganisation of the staff, the board was geared up to do a great deal more in the coming year. “To say that we are doing a little here and a little there is incorrect, and that is putting it in a very mild form,” Mr Connal said. Justification Claimed “I think I was justified in saying what I did at the election,” said Mr Smith. He said that £3 million to £4 million would be the total cost of all the work connected with the new treatment works. He said that several members who had not sought election had had special knowledge of the board’s activities and plans, whereas new members had to learn from scratch.

Mr Connal interrupted to say that two of the members who had not sought re-election were more than 70 years of age. “I am perfectly happy to stand by what I said at the election campaign,” Mr Smith continued. “As time goes on I will be able to prove that what I said is perfectly true.”