Work Awaits New City Council

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29953, 15 October 1962, Page 11

Work Awaits New City Council

The earlier election this year will allow the new City Council to settle down before the Christmas break and one of the first tasks will to select committees and chairmen, and then to replace defeated and retired members on representative bodies.

The first meeting of the new council will probably be held early next month. Once the official count has been completed the council can be called together.

Since the Citizens’ Association gained complete control three years ago the meeting day has been changed from Mondays to Wednesdays. Mondays suited members of Parliament when Labour held control, ft is unlikely that the Wednesday meetings will be changed. Since Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P., returned to the council he has been able to get away from Parliament for meetings. Now Miss M. B. Howard has returned as another MP. -councillor. With the defeat of Mr A. S. Hollander and the retirement from the council of Mr J. R. Smith, the council will have to look for new representatives on the Christchurch Fire Board. Mr W. E. Olds will return as one of the three, and it is possible that Mr Smith may be left a representative, as it is not necessary that the nominee be a councillor.

Mr G. D. Hattaway, who has been defeated, was one of the council's representatives on the Christchurch Metropolitan Milk Board and on the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority. If the policy of the Citizens’ council of 1956-59 is followed, and it probably will be, the Labour members will be given a proportionate share of some of the positions on outside bodies to which the council appoints representatives. This was a policy initiated by the Citizens’ Association. Deputy-Mayor

Mr H. P. Smith will undoubtedly remain chairman of the important by-laws and finance committee and be the main spokesman for the Citizens’ councillors. He will probably also be Dep-uty-Mayor again. That position is by election of the council, and need not accord with any party affiliations or personal wishes of the Mayor One of the senior councillors. Mr W. P. Glue, has said several times that he did not wish to continue as a committee chairman—he has been chairman of the town planning committee, which has a lot of detailed work on inspections.

Mr G. A. G. Connal has acted as chairman of the committee and would be a logical choice to succeed Mr Glue if he decides to retire; but Mr Connal is off the council on the preliminary count. He has a reasonably good chance of returning when the final figures emerge. If the special votes do not give him the gain expected, Mr G. D. Griffiths, a former chairman ot the committee, could succeed Mr Glue.

There could easily be a rearrangement of some of the other committee chairmanships, giving some of the younger councillors t chance to takes a more prominent part in the council’s important committees.