Act could prevent Midland take-over

Press, 18 May 1982, Page 3

Act could prevent Midland take-over

A 60-year-old private act of Parliament could prevent the proposed take-over by the Christchurch Transport Board of three Midland Coachline passenger service licences,‘the hearing into the

matter was told yesterday. Mr A. A. P. Willy, representing Travelfar Coaches, Ltd, told the Transport Licensing Authority, Mr D. L. Hogan, that the Christchurch Tramways District Act, 1920, limited the board’s functions to within Christchurch City and its suburbs. The licences, which Midland wants to transfer to the board, service areas including Rangiora, Kaiapoi, and Southbridge. Mr Willy said that if the Authority did not rule on the legality of the proposal he would apply to the High Court for legal clarification. He might also seek an order to stop the hearing from continuing until the High Court had ruled on the matter.

The Authority said that he wanted to. hear more evidence before making a decision on the matter. He later said that he could give his decision when the hearing resumed this morning. Mr Willy said that the act clearly defined the area in which the board could function. A section of the act which appeared to allow the board to function outside its district meant that it could only carry passengers and freight uplifted within Christchurch.

“To suggest the section allows the board to operate freely anywhere in New Zealand would make nonsense of the rest of the act,” he said. The same act prevented the board from rating territorial local authorities outside its district. “I submit that if the board cannot rate the councils outside its district then the prospects of it running the services at a profit, when Midland failed to do so, are nil,” said Mr Willy. Mr H. C. Keyte, one of the counsel representing both the board and Midland, said that the act did allow the board to function outside its area.

Under Mr Willy's interEtion of the act the had been working outside the area defined, and therefore illegally, since 1940, he said. He also said that the act dealt with tramways, the only part dealing with buses on roads was the same section which gave the board authority to work outside its district Tf Mr WiP ’’c inter-

pretation was to be accepted the board’s authority to function “went out the window” when the last tramway had ceased to run. The board would be able to run the services at a profit and would not need to rate local authorities outside Christchurch, said Mr Keyte. A second attempt to have the hearing adjourned was made by Mr D. 0. Crerar, counsel for the Rangiora and Kaiapoi Borough councils, the Rangiora District Council, and the Eyre and Oxford County Councils which are opposed to the transfer of licences. Mr Crear said that the councils did not have enough time to prepare objections because the minimum time of four weeks since the proposed take-over was advertised had only just passed. The Authority said that the hearing should continue because of the amount of public interest. He had announced through the news media, before the advertisements were placed, that the hearing would be held in an attempt to give objectors more time to prepare themselves.

Mr D. W. Mcßeth, the New Zealand manager of the transport division of Midland, told the hearing that his company had been running the services at a loss for several years. A loss of up to $200,000 had been predicted for this year.

Midland wanted to transfer the licences to the board because it could do so profitably and would employ all drivers on the services. A study by Midland had shown that only an organisation with an existing fleet of buses could “make a go” of the services, he said. The board already had the buses needed and because it was at the hub of. the services it only needed to extend its present network, said Mr Mcßeth.