Barriers for party conference

Press, 19 July 1979, Page 1

Barriers for party conference

Steel and mesh barriers will protect the Christchurch Town Hall during the National Party conference from July 27 to 30. The Town Hall Board of Management decided at its monthly meeting yesterday to order $4500 worth of barriers to protect the Town Hall and its occupants from possible demonstrations.

The Town Hall manager (Mr B. P. Connell) said the police had asked him through the Christchurch City Council engineers’ department for improved crowd control barriers.

Although barriers had not been provided for in the 1979. Town Hal! budget, Mr Connell said, he was confident that some of their cost could be ab-

sorbed by cutting “less necessary” items. Apart from the meeting this month, protection barriers might be needed on at least three other occasions this year. The Town Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray) said that “noone” wanted to pay for the barriers. It was not the City Council’s responsibility to provide them and usually informal guides such as rope and chains were sufficient to control crowds. If the Town Hall was attracting controversial clients, it was its own responsibility to pay for protection. The board would have to cut other items to find

the money, said Mr Gray

Mr Connell recommended that the board pay $llOO to provide barriers on the footpath outside the main entrance to the Town Hall, and that the remaining $3400 be paid by the police or the City Council. Cr W. J. A. Brittenden said the board would be foolish if it did nothing, knowing that the Town Hall was likely to be threatened. Mr W. M. Hindmarsh said the Government should pay for the barriers

Mrs Mollie Clark said that the whole matter of security barriers for the city should be looked at carefully. The Town Hall would probably have to

find storage for any barriers the board bought.

Mr Gray said he had been asked for a decision to pass to the engineers’ department immediately after the meeting, because of the time factor. Mr A. B. Harman moved that the matter be referred to the Town Hall executive committee. The motion was carried and a decision made to hold an emergency meeting of the executive early today. But after heated discussion the motion was rescinded and a decision made to get the engineers’ department to provide the barriers.

The board considered that the matter was too urgent to delay; it agreed to order the barriers now and to negotiate later with

interested bodies over payment. Mr Connell said the police had asked for the type of barrier used for important occasions at Parliament House. They had said that rope-and-hurdle barriers were “quite ineffective” and could be used as weapons by protest groups. The proposed barriers would be temporary, but would be anchored to the ground. Mr Connell said 40 barriers were needed. A sixmetre length would be erected east and west of the garden plots bordering the main entrance. A 90metre length would be required on the north side of Kilmore Street, opposite the main entrance to the Town Hall.