COUNTY MERGER PLAN REJECTED BY POLL

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28619, 23 June 1958, Page 10

COUNTY MERGER PLAN REJECTED BY POLL

The plan to amalgamate the Halswell, Springs, and a rural portion of the Paparua counties was lost as the result of two polls held on Saturday. In the Halswell County, 80 persons voted for the proposal and 258 against: and in the rural portion of the Paparua County, 125 voted in favour and 167 against. Polling was very light in both areas. Some postal and declaration votes are still to be counted but they cannot possibly affect the result. 1 ' y • In November last year, the Local Government Commission produced a final scheme for the amalgamation of the counties. The new county was to be called Lincoln. No objection was lodged by the Springs County; but in both the Halswell and Paparua

counties petitions of electors requested that a poll be held. The poll in the Paparua county, where eight polling places were set up. was a very small one with less than 25 per cent, of those eligible to vote exercising their right, said the returning officer (Mr A. Kelly) yesterday There were about 1300 electors in that part of the Paparua County concerned with the proposal. The lightness of the poll, unfortunately, gave little indication of the views of the electors in that portion of the Paparua County which the Local Government Commission proposed should join the Springs and Halswell counties to form the new Lincoln county, said the chairman of the Paparua County Council (Mr J. H. Weaver) yesterday. “Personally, I have never been able to see any worthwhile reason for dividing the Paparua County.” said Mr Weaver. “Of one thing I am certain, that al! members will be pleased to know that it is over at last, and that we will now be able to get back to some stability in business without the amalagmation proposal forever raising its head.” More than 900 persons were entitled to vote in the Halswell county poll, said the returning officer (Mrs R. Ballantine) yesterday. The light poll was in keeping with the county council elections. Of the valid votes cast, slightly less than 24 per cent, were for the proposal and 76 per cent, against. There were two polling places, at the Halswell and Tai Tapu schools. “I am very gratified with the result,” said the chariman of the Halswell County Council (Mr James MacKenzie) yesterday. In the latter stages of the proposal, most of the councillors were against amalgamation. The original scheme was so altered that the views of many members changed. At April 1, 1958, the capital value of the Paparua County was £l6m and the amalgamation Scheme provided for transferring an area valued at £4|m to the proposed Lincoln county. The value of the Halswell County, at the same time, was about and the value of the Springs County was about the same. The combined value of about £s£m, with the addition of the £4£m. rural portion of the Paparua County, would have meant a total value for the proposed new Lincoln County of £lom. Had the whole of the Paparua County been included in the amalgamation scheme the tqtal value would have been about £2lm.

“I feel sure that the drastic alteration in the original plan to eliminate £ll£m value of the Paparua county materially affected the result of the poll," said Mr MacKenzie.

“The Halswell County Council is in a very good position with no public debt. We have always been sound financially and rate on seven-eighths of a penny in the pound capital value. This compares very favourably with the standard throughout New Zealand.”