Govt Aid For Civil Defence Sought

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32323, 15 June 1970, Page 15

Govt Aid For Civil Defence Sought

(New Zealand Press Association)

DUNEDIN, June 1 14.

The Government will be asked by the Counties Association to consider an increase in the State’s financial contribution to the cost of civil defence.

The association passed a re mit from the Waimalri County Council asking for the increase at its annual confer ence in Dunedin. The council’s chairman (Mt D. B. Rich) said ratepayers were being asked to share an unfair burden of the cost, All sections of the community should make a contribution. Supporting the remit, the chairman of the Inangahua County Council (Mr J. E Etheredge) said the administration of civil defence could be handled only by local authorities. But he believed that the Government should increase its financial contribution to enable the scheme to be implemented properly. BUILDING BY-LAWS ' A remit designed to prevent Government departments

from erecting or resiting substandard buildings in built?, up areas was passed by the conference. The remit, from the Whakatane County Council, asks fot legislation to make the Crown comply with building by-laws. UNIVERSITY RATES A rertiit asking the Government to give urgent consideration to amending legislation to allow local bodies to charge rates for university land was passed. The remit was proposed by the Waimairi County, in which the University of Canterbury is situated. Mr Rich said his county was losing rates on a large area of land that would otherwise be used for residential purposes. Attempts to alter the end of the financial year to June 30 and to prohibit the sale of blackberries were defeated by the conference, The blackberry sales ban, proposed by the Rangitikei County to help prevent the spread of blackberry, was described as a “drastic remedy for an imaginary danger,” by Mr P. J. O'Regan, an Inangahua County councillor.