Drainage Board Districts Changed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31307, 1 March 1967, Page 18

Drainage Board Districts Changed

After changing its electoral districts the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening agreed to seek legislation postponing this year’s election until 1968 when it would coincide with the municipal elections.

The scheme approved by the board was one of four alternatives outlined by the secretary (Mr T A. Tucker) and not the one favoured by the policy committee. It involved subdivision of the board’s district into four areas instead of 14 sub-dist-ricts and treats the area of each territorial authority as being entitled to one or more members.

Christchurch city will have nine members, Waimairi county three, Paparua county one, and the combined areas of Riccarton borough, Heathcote county and part of Halswell county one.

Mr Tucker said this would provide an even representation on a population basis, but members would no longer be associated with a single district except in the case of Paparua and the combined smaller areas.

The outstanding advantage was that the system would enable the territorial local authority rolls to be used instead of the board preparing

separate sub-district rolls for each of its 14 sub-districts.

The policy committee recommended a scheme redrawing the sub-district boundaries with regard to territorial authority boundaries but still achieving equality of population between the subdistricts.