Civil Defence

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31656, 17 April 1968, Page 10

Civil Defence

Sir, —Mr Kirk is only a member of Parliament, not a civil defence official. If he had stayed tucked up in his nice warm bed instead of set-

ting a dangerous example by going to see for himself, the residents would never have been encouraged to grumble. As for going out to sec the wreckage, there has been no news of Mr Holyoake doing it, so why should Mr Kirk?—Yours, etc., D. GREGSON. April 16. 1968. Sir, —Being one fchbse property was flooded,ll was interested to hear ana read Mr Kirk’s criticism of the civil defence organisation. I can say, from my own experience, that through the height of the flood on Thursday night and Friday, the police and Army organisation in Sumner was efficient and adequate. Unless things were markedly different elsewhere, Mr Kirk’s attitude could lay him open to a charge of political opportunism. However, assuming there is some substance in his complaints, it is not clear to many people against whom they should be directed—the Mayor, the area controller, the senior police officer, or whom. Could you therefore publish details of the mechanics of how a civil defence emergency is declared, stating who has the responsibility, and who has the authority, and how it is done?—Yours, etc..

April 16, 1968. lln Christchurch the responsibility for declaring a state of emergency belongs to the civil defence committee. This consists of: the Mayor of Christchurch, as chairman, the Mayors of Riccarton and Lyttelton, and the chairmen of the Heathcote, Paparua. and Waimairi County Councils. A meeting of this committee may be called by any one of its members. The chairman of the committee is. responsible for signing the actual declaration of an emergency, which may cover the whole or only a part of Christchurch. Once an emergency has been declared, then, under law, the members of the committee are granted powers they normally would not have The quickest way for a state of emergency to be made known to the public is by repetition over the radio. Where a local authority is not combined with any other in a civil defence scheme, the Mayor 1 and his council then become the civil defence committee.]

Sir,—Mr Kirk has had a lot to say about civil defence, etc., I saw Mr Kirk on the street laughing and shaking hands, but he did not have a vacuum flask of hot soup in his hands such as I had brought to me: nor did I hear of him helping to carry people out of their homes, or calling on people to see if he could be of any help, as I had at least six men call on me.—Yours, etc., LESS TALK MORE HELP. April 16, 1968.