Robbie has ’gutsful'

Press, 29 July 1978, Page 6

Robbie has ’gutsful'

The Mayor of Auckland (Sir Dove-Myer Robinson) has threatened to resign Im cause ot the outcry from • the most miserable, ungiateful lot of ratepayers.”

•Tv* had a gutsful of them,” he said, “and I’m considering resigning if the rest of the council will join me,” the Press Association reports. The Mayor’s comments follow a rising tide of protest from angry ratepayers. On Thursday evening, more than 300 eastern suburbs ratepayers jammed into the St Heliers Bay R.S-A. Hall to demand immediate action on holding the rates for this year at last year’s level. They decided to confront the council en masse at its next meeting to air their views.

The group which organised the meeting will write to the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Highet) to demand that the Government makes loan money available to local bodies at low interest rates for capital works and restructures local-body organisation In Auckland.

Another protest group, the Excessive Rates Group, is drumming up support from ratepayers to make a mass protest to the council, and an Avondale ratepayers’ group will meet next week to air the same grievances. Sir Dove-Myer described the criticism of the council as crocodile tears and hy'procisy. “They are not concerned about whether they are getting value for their money,” he said.

“On the one hand, community committees are demanding that we do more and more, and on the other, you get the ratepayers demanding that we cut services out.”

The Mayor said he had been getting hundreds of calls from ratepayers complaining about higher rates.

"When I ask them what they would have us do to reduce rates, they all say: ‘Send the Polynesians back because we’re spending too much money on social welfare.’

“They don’t care about the quality of the city life. Let the compiainers run the city themselves and see how well they can do it.”