The Press WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1973 Out of bounds

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33156, 21 February 1973, Page 16

The Press WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1973 Out of bounds

The inherent democratic fairness of the ward system of voting for local body elections is diluted by the patent unfairness of the Christchurch City Council majority’s insistence on drawing the ward boundaries itself. This must have been obvious to the Labour majority on the council throughout its deliberations on the system which has now been adopted. It has been emphasised frequently and forcefully by both the council minority and “ The Press but Labour members of the council have stubbornly refused even to recognise that this is the point at issue, pretending instead to believe that both the Citizens’ Association and “ The Press ” oppose the ward system itself. Common justice is the point at issue: and Labour councillors obscure the point and beg the issue by harping on the fact that their procedure is quite legal—which no-one has disputed. The law enabling them to draw their own boundaries and to rule on any objections might not necessarily lead to gerrymandering: but it is always likely to invite the suspicion of gerrymandering, which is something any elected public body should wish to avoid at all costs. Labour might well have to defend itself against accusations of gerrymandering every time Labour candidates win council seats in the five new wards.

The boundaries drawn by the committee of three may prove to be eminently fair; the failure of the Citizens’ Association councillors to point to any particular inequity (beyond the question of whether the wards should be based on population or on the number of electors) suggests that they probably are. But that is beside the point They will not be seen to be fair until the council takes the sensible step still open to it of inviting an independent tribunal to examine the result.