Chch prepares to fight air pollution again

Press, 30 January 1981, Page 4

Chch prepares to fight air pollution again

Interest-free loans for con--ersions to electric domestic heating and a clean air publicity campaign are measures which may be adopted to fight air pollution in Christchurch next winter. They will be studied by the Christchurch City Council before being put before the Ministers of Energy and Health. Free loans and a campaign to encourage the replacement of unsuitable domestic heating applicances are among proposals from a working party set up in 1979 by the council, the Canterbury United Council, and the’ departments of Health and Energy. The Citv Council’s health and general committee yesterday set up a sub-com-mittee to report to the next' council meeting on the proposals, so that they could be referred quickly back to the : Government. ■ : A report to the committee, said it was hoped the Gov-! eminent' would appreciate [ Christchurch’s "great need”. 1 for winter heating when 1 considered in conjunction with the city's air .pollution. [ It pointed to a wise use oft electricity; with thermostatic i controls , and,, house in-i sulation. as the’hgst methods [ of heating air pollution. However, the free Moans.: with the cost being shaded?

• ’ between the council and the : .Government, and encouragement to -convert away from open fires, have now > been singled out for urgent consideration. I Councillors felt the coun- ■ cil would have to show a i willingness to commit itself ’ financially to overcoming air pollution if it was to attract Government help. “We have got to demonstrate we are prepared to do, something positive in this if we are prepared to get something out of our friends: in Wellington.” said the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr Hamish Hay). > i Clean- Air Society mem-j hers praised the council's; public- utilities committee.for [ its threat to withhold pay-J ment of a 9- per cent rise ini 'the bulk electricity tariff. • | I The Government had done; :nothing to honour its “moral, ’obligation” under the Clean iAir ’Act. 1972. the society’s president (Mr P. V. Neary) •told the committee. • He predicted an increase .'this year in Christchurch’s; ' pe»k power loadings, because of the gas work's clos-, - ‘ing. . . % : ... ' ; r isurcs wronj, ( 1 The Minister of Energy! 1 '(Mr Birch) quoted incorrect!; (Municipal Electricity Depart-j

i; ment surplus figures in bis > criticism of the City Coun- - - cil’s stand on Wednesday. i He said there had been; : .M.E.D. surpluses of $l4 mil-’ |lion in 1975, $24 million in' 1977 and $34 million in; .1979. His office yesterday! said that Mr Birch had meant to say that those fig-; lures represented total: M.E.D. revenue for those; years, not surpluses. | . The M.E.D.’s general ntan-j ager, Mr .1. H. Donald, said; .the department’s effective balance in 1975. after meet-.; ing all commitments, was; iactuallv $441,493. i i In 1977. the effective bal-, ' ance Was $436,079. I he bal-. iance in 1.979. was $368,421. a; ■figure reached after; j 51,250,000 was paid to the! ;council’s general account to ihelo finance the Civic; ; Offices purchase and renovation project. , Protest aioise , The committee will seek 11 information on the legality!; of street protests involving i( the use of loud speakerj after a complaint by Cr[t Helen Garrett about noise, r levels at a recent demonstra-p tion by the anti-apartheid; ( group. HART, outride the; Christchifrch Town Hall. : Speeches, slogans. and ' t songs "of a political nature”;] were broadcast through an-i

'amplifier for an hour, Cr Garrett said. “It gave a bad I impression to visitors to the [Veteran Games,” she said. i Cr Garrett, who was one of a group of demonstrators welcoming South African ; participation in the Games, 'said she had received [“serious complaints from people in the street.” i Easter films j Christchurch cinemas again will not be. able to [screen films on Good Friday. The manager of Amalgamated Theatres, Ltd. Mr J. IP. Moodabe, sought permission to open his company’s cinemas on thar day. iNo staff member would be [compelled to work on Good Friday. Mr Moodabe said. ; Sir Robert Macfarlane said [the Film Projectionists' Union was opposed to Good Friday screenings. Cr H. A! Clark said that'., under their award, projectionists had off two days a year — Christmas Day and Good Friday. -: “They are quite anxious -, that the two days remain i reasonably sacrosanct and I we should respect that,” Cr Clark said. . The committee acceptedMr Hay’s proposal to retain the existing policy against permission for film screenings on Good Friday.