REINSTATEMENT MOVE FAILS

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32460, 21 November 1970, Page 3

REINSTATEMENT MOVE FAILS

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 20. The Chairman of Committees Mr A. E. Allen, declined | to accept an amendment moved in Parliament by Mr R. P. Drayton (Lab., St Albans), under which a Christchurch City Councillor, Mr P. J. R. Skellerup, would have been deemed never to have been disqualified from the council. The Opposition tried to use the Local Legislation Bill —a bill containing miscellaneous provisions relating to iocal government—to bring about the reinstatement of Mr Skellerup, who lost his seat recently on instructions from the Audit Office. Opposition members of Parliament said they did not deny that the Audit Office acted correctly, in that contracts between the Christchurch City Council and Mr Skellerup’s firm had exceeded the stipulated maximum without prior approval. Mr Drayton described Mr

Skellerup as “an outstanding Christchurch citizen,” and “an outi standing councillor.” , The amendment was sup- , ported by Mr B. G. Barclay (Lab., Christchurch ' Central), Mr T. M. Mc- , Guigan (Lab v Lyttelton), and by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk), who stressed that Labour : Party support was being given in spite of the fact that Mr Skellerup was not; a member of the Labour Party. Mr Kirk said Mr Skellerup had lost his seat “simply on a technicality,’’ and had been “harshly and un- . justly treated through no fault of his own.” But Mr Allen, declined to accept the amendment after some discussion about its admissability under Parliamentary Standing Orders. The Minister of Local Government (Mr Seath) said there had been four other cases this year. The “automatic disqualification of Mr Skellerup did; not differ from any of the I other cases.”