South Island Association To Rejoin National Body

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30095, 1 April 1963, Page 22

South Island Association To Rejoin National Body

The South Island Publicity Association is to rejoin the New Zealand Travel and Holidays Association. This decision was made after a 75minute debate at the South Island association’s annual conference held in Christchurch on Saturday. The issue, raised by the Queenstown Borough Council, was finally settled by ballot after two votes by show of hands. The ballot gave 31 in favour of joining and 28 against. In the first vote by hands 24 were in favour of the motion with 28 against, and in the second vote 27 favoured the proposal and 26 voted against it Mr D. Costelloe (Redwood Court Motels) said the association should combine with the national body in promoting tourism in New Zealand. One should get away from the North and South atmosphere which only caused confusion both inside and outside the Dominion.

Mr A C. Brassington said, in opposing the motion, that he did not recognise the New Zealand association as a national body. The South Island association was not a beggar or a pauper. It had money from local bodies all supporting South Island tourism. He asked what dividend the association expected to get for its £5 5s subscription. He said the association's strength lay in the fact that ft had chosen to remain separate. Mr W. J. Shaw (Arrowtown) said that if one wanted to push South Island tourist interests it could be done better by being on the executive of the national body than by being outside it Mr M. Wallace (South Island Local Bodies) said he felt one bad to determine which was the better way to achieve the meet publicity and the development of tourist resorts. “Do we go in or do we stay out?” he asked More would be achieved by feeing in than by staying out. Surely the association was big enough to retain its parochialism and support its own part of New Zealand and yet associate itself with a national body recognised by the Government, which was concerned with the tourist development of New Zealand as a whole.

Mr W. T. Rice (Waimairi County Council) said he felt that if the membership fee of £5 5a was all the finance involved then the South Island should join. Mr R. Lascelles said there was no question of proportional representation if the association became a member of the board of the national body. It was allowed one vote only. Even if it joined on the £5 level, he said, the South Island body would be axcctly in the same position it was in before as a member of the organisation. Mr Lascelles said he opposed the motion “tooth end nail”

Mr B. H. Paton said that if the South Island body joined it would be breaking faith with all its members kvho. considered the asaocia-

tion primarily as a South Island organisation. For the South Island association to “tie its tin can on to the national body’s tail” would be disastrous, said Mr Paton. Mr H. L. Gibson, of Dunedin, said that surrender of sovereignty was involved. If the South Island became a member of the national body then it would be bound by its decisions. There was nothing wrong in parochialism. Parochialism would in this case be to the advantage of the South Island. Marriage was easy to get into but hard to get out of. In such case only a fool would, after making the break, remarry the same partner.