Change Proposed In Board Seats

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31727, 10 July 1968, Page 12

Change Proposed In Board Seats

A reduction from four to three in the number of members elected in the Christchurch City Council’s area and a regrouping of country seats to give seven members from rural communities were proposed by the North Canterbury Catchment Board yesterday to suit its enlarged district.

The board met representatives of the 16 councils that at present form its district. Also present were councillors from the Waipara, Amur! and Cheviot counties, which have agreed to come into the board's area, and from the Akaroa and Mount Herbert counties, which are undecided. The board’s chairman (Mr R. M. D. Johnson) said that the board would like agreement from all the councils so that it could make a recommendation to the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council as to its new constitution. Asked whether the new electoral districts would apply for the local body elections in October, Mr Johnson said: “I can’t be certain. It’s over to Wellington. If we can’t agree, it will be for the Local Government Commission to make a decision.”

There was disagreement on the board’s proposal that the Rangiora and Kaiapoi boroughs, and the counties of Rangiora, Oxford and Eyre should be grouped to elect a member, or, alternatively, that Oxford should join the Ashley and Waipara counties Akaroa did hot want to be in the board’s district, said the county chairman (Mr G. P. A de Latour). Cr R. F. G. Gardiner

(Mount Herbert) said that Akaroa, Wairewa and Mount Herbert had common problems, and would like regional control: but if Wairewa (now partly in the board’s district) came wholly in, and Akaroa “went it alone,” Mount Herbert, he thought, had no alternative but to come under the board. The Town Clerk of Lyttelton (Mr J. Thompson) said that the borough probably would prefer to go in with Akaroa and Mount Herbert. The board’s secretary (Mr W. W. Brough) said that the grouping proposals would mean the elimination of representation direct for the Kaiapoi and Rangiora boroughs, and would reduce representation for the Christchurch urban area from four to three. At present, urban areas had five members, and rural areas five.

One proposed grouping, excluding the Banks Peninsula counties, was Christchurch City and Riccarton Borough, three seats; and one seat each for Waimairi; Paparua and Heathcote; Rangiora and Kaiapoi boroughs, Rangiora and Eyre counties; Malvern and part Ashburton counties, Oxford, Ashley and Waipara; Amur! and Cheviot; Ellesmere and Wairewa. No decisions were reached by the meeting.