PARK ROAD PROTEST Injunction Sought Against Minister

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32385, 26 August 1970, Page 14

PARK ROAD PROTEST Injunction Sought Against Minister

Preparations were being made for an injunction to be sought against the Minister of Lands (Mr Maclntyre) to prevent the City Council from building the proposed road through Hagley Park, the annual meeting of the Christchurch Metropolitan Ratepayers’ Association was told last evening.

The association’s chairman (Mr A. A. Mackintosh) told the meeting that substantial funds had been offered to the association to enable it to fight a long and expensive Supreme Court action.

“Should the council be granted permission to go ahead with the road, we are left only with the right of injunction, and we have already made preliminary preparations to that end,” Mr Mackintosh said.

“Everyone responsible will have to get their shoulders to the wheel in this. It will be a hard fight but, believe me, we will let people know we have been here.” Mr Mackintosh said that he understood from radio broadcasts that evening that the Prime Minister (Sir Keith Holyoake) and the Minister of Lands were in favour of the road going through, but that a final decision depended on a legal point “If they have agreed to the council’s request to carve up part of our heritage we will bring legal action,” Mr Mackintosh declared. “A Straight Man” “We will go ahead with this injunction if necessary, even though it is against the Minister, who I know to be a straight man, and a conservationist at heart

“If he has given, or does give, permission for the council to go ahead, it is appar-

ent to me that the Prime Minister has intervened. Not that I am trying to downcry Sir Keith Holyoake—heaven

knows what pressure has been brought to bear on him.” Mr Mackintosh strongly criticised the reported statement last week by the Mayor (Mr A R. Guthrey) that he would go ahead with the plan, regardless of objections, if he did not receive a reply soon from the Minister. “This is our Mayor, the same man who preaches against the Progressive Youth Movement and student demonstrations,” Mr MacKintosh said. “He is supposed to be our leading citizen, yet he sets this shocking example of lawlessness.”

During a discussion on the association’s slim finances, during which the establishment and building up of a “fighting fund” was suggested, Mr Mackintosh said he had received offers of substantial funds from Christchurch interests to pay for Court action taken in the injunction.

“Going through a Supreme Court injunction and a prolonged hearing with many witnesses is an expensive business,” he said. Mr Mackintosh said that the association was continuing to fight actively on another front, and had collected about 8000 signatures of people protesting against the council's plan, and these had been presented to Parliament.

He said that when he had spoken to Sir Keith Holyoake about the objections,

the Prime Minister had asked him what proportion of ratepayers his organisation represented. “I told him I thought the whole of Christchurch,”' said Mr Mackintosh.

“The Prime Minister only chuckled. It seems that those people up there don’t listen to anyone until they are sure by signatures that the organisation has the full backing of the majority.” “The continual rise in rates is the cause of much uncertainty, insecurity and unhappiness to most ratepayel's,” Mr Mackintosh went on. “This uncertainty is accentuated by the enormous expense of the council’s roading plans, which are expected to cost between ssom and s6om.

“We are opposed to the destruction of any of our city’s parks, be they Hagley Park, Latimer Square, or Cranmer Square. They are our heritage.”