No Wellington Secretary For Catchment Boards

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29190, 28 April 1960, Page 9

No Wellington Secretary For Catchment Boards

The New Zealand Catchment Boards’ Association conference decided yesterday that it did not want a permanent secretary in Wellington. “Why does everyone want to have a secretary in Wellington?” asked Mr L. J. T. Ireland (Otago). “The first thing that happens is that the poor blighter becomes contaminated with departmental fallout.” (Laughter.) A permanent secretary in Wellington would soon start out on a system of “Empire-building,” agreed Mr R. Macdonald (Poverty Bay). He would want an office, then he would want a staff, and there would be “no end to the thing.” A very capable man today was worth a lot of money, said Mr Macdonald. A man who was going to undertake the whole of the work of the catchment boards of New Zealand would want “thousands of pounds per annum.”

The conference was considering a Wairarapa remit that the Catchment Boards’ Association have a permanent secretary “domiciled in Wellington, or at a place within reasonable communication distance of that city,” and that “steps be taken to make such an appointment at an appronriate time.” Mr W. Grieve (Southland) asked if the importance and standing of the Catchment Boards' Association’s work justified a permanent secretary. Could the association pay for a permanent secretary? It only paid “a mere pittance of £lOO to the parttime secretary who was carrying out the work at present. [The present part-time secretary is the secretary of the Otago Catchment Board.) Mr E. P. Meachen (Blenheim) said that the association was getting “excellent service” from the secretary at Dunedin, and there was no need to alter the set-up.

Mr E. H. Simpson (Rangitiki) agreed that the place for the secretary was alongside the president (Mr T. R. Beatty, chairman of the Otago Catchment Board).

Mr Beatty said the association was getting a good secretarial service from Dunedin at present. “Now that Dunedin has Momona airport—and there’s no moaning about it, it's in operation (I wonder if our North Island friends have heard of it?) —it’s only a day’s work for the secretary to go to Wellington and back if he has to consult someone in Wellington,” Mr Beatty said. The remit anticipated some-

thing that was not required at the moment. The contributions from the various catchment boards would have to be considerably increased if a permanent secretary in Wellington was appointed, said Mr A. T. Bell (North Canterbury). How did the boards view that? Mr R. E. Chamberlain (Wairarapa) and others spoke in favour of the remit. A permanent secretary would be able to ensure continuity of the association’s work, and would become “a valuable part of the set-up,” said Mr Chamberlain. The association should be able to find £5OO to £6OO a year for a secretary. After further discussion ot proposed amendments, the original remit was finally put, but lost on a show of hands.