The ward system

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 8

The ward system

Sir, —Reports of the last City Council meeting indicate that the ward system of voting in local body elections is to be introduced in Christchurch. I, along with many others, am finding it difficult to sort out any

pros and cons of the ward information regarding the system and would appreciate some details of its operation, its advantage over the present system (if any), additional costs involved, etc. Could you supply this information, or indicate sources of information on the ward system? The Labour councillors must have access to such literature so that they may be able to cast an intelligent vote on the “board of directors,” and many citizens would appreciate access to such material so that they, too, may be better informed on the actions of their elected repre-sentatives.—-Yours, etc.. WARDABOUTIT. October 26, 1972. [The Mayor (Mr N. G. Pickering), replies: “The Labour councillors have thoroughly investigated the merits of the ward system of voting. This is why it was the No. 1 plank of their policy, as outlined to electors before the election. I would recommend to your correspondent the book, ‘Decently and In Order,’ by G. L. A. Bush, on the city of Auckland, which carries a special section on the ward system. This is available at the Public Library. Two extracts should be of interest. Writing on the present system he says: ‘Ploughing through a formidable list of names the unprepared voter searches frantically for ones that are familiar or he makes a random selection from those that are looked at first . . . The 67 candidates in 1929 necessitated a ballot paper two feet long. I would point out also that the ward system of voting, for representation only, is widely used overseas, and no doubt your correspondent can find further information from various reliable sources.”]