TOWN HALL PROJECT

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31781, 11 September 1968, Page 20

TOWN HALL PROJECT

Referendum Not Sought

The Avon branch of the Social Credit League will not proceed with its public petition asking for a referendum on whether the City Council should proceed in borrowing money for the Town Hall project A Social Credit candidate for the local body elections, Mr I. W. Barrow, told a branch meeting of the league in Aranui, that as the Local Body Loans Authority had granted the council’s application to raise loan money for the project, nothing would stop either a Citizens or Labour council from plunging the ratepayers further and further into debtbondage. “Ratepayers are already protesting against the slow but steady increase in their rate demands which are rapidly assuming the proportions of extra rent and mortgage repayments on their properties," said Mr Barrow. “The continuous and increasing burden of interestbearing debt resulting from an apparently insatiable desire for interest-bearing borrowing is making the local bodies more like public clipjoints than sensible public administrations.” Mr Barrow said the response to the petition had been extremely heartening, but as long as local body administrators took advantage of the political and civic apathy of the majority of ratepayers, there seemed no escape from people being saddled with more and more debt obligations.