Local bodies oppose polls bill

Press, 16 March 1982, Page 12

Local bodies oppose polls bill

Parliamentary reporter Local authorities have ob- ' jected that no person will be able to he an?elected member of ’ a . local authority under * proposed legislation unless he or she is a New Zealand citizen. In submissions to the Parliamentary Select Com? mittee on the Local Elecr tions and Polls Amendment' Bill, The Counties Association -; and tlie ..Municipal.. Associathat ‘‘permanent’ ■ substantial contributiortsxto their communities. ’' x The Christchurch* Drainage i Board objected that perman- I ent residents whp were not ? New Zealand citizens could'- )

not be elected to local authorities, but still qualified as electors. The Waimairi County Council safd the discrepancy was “undesirable.” ■ Local body vacancies appearing between, elections should not be filled- by pointment, a 'Wellington City councillor,- Mrs H. Ritchie; told the committee. The bill allows an . option between appointment, and election demanded by a poll, of ratepayers. - - .Vacancies filled by appointment were “totally undemocratic” on a democratic body,, said Mrs Ritchie. “An appointed person has nqt put him or herself lip for ■4.--'- -U.-

public scrutiny before taking the position, and has no electorate to which he or she is accountable,” she said. All vacancies should be filled if they occurred one year after the triennial election,- by the next highest '.-polling candidate, or if there was none, then by election, she said. . Mrs Ritchie said.,electors on the current parliament-: ary, roll who were not on the district electors’ roll should ' be considered eligible to demand a poll. This was important in cities , and towns Witli high population move-. merit. * i Parliamentary foils should be used io update district rolls. District rolls were usually in a “notoriously bad” state, she said. The Paparua County Coun- . cil opposed the increase in the candidate’s fee -from -s§o to $lOO, When candidates for :< local body office were not K- - ~r K

plentiful, any disincentives should be avoided. In smaller local authorities in particular, said the Temuka . Borough Council, people who made valuable .. contributions to that authority would sometimes have difficulty finding a deposit of . $lOO. The Counties Association and the Municipal Association asked that local authorities no longer have to carry the cost of administering elections for hospital boards. They also asked that byelections in which local . authorities had to bear the • cost should be conducted in the manner of the authorities’ choosing. “Ratepayer roll” needed to be defined. It was not clear whether the term included only those on the electoral roll with a rating qualification, or all . those appearing < in the occupier’s column of the. District Valuation roll. ?.