Safeguards sought on right to ratepayers’ poll

Press, 13 September 1982, Page 12

Safeguards sought on right to ratepayers’ poll

Parliamentary reporter Women’s groups have reacted to legislation which will have the effect of reducing the number of women able to petition for a poll of ratepayers. Before the Parliamentary Local Bills Select Committee they argued that because women usually carried residential status of joint ownership titles, they would be barred from demanding a poll on local authority loan proposals. The Local Authorities Loans Amendment Bill limits petitioning for a poll to the ratepayer, who is also the only person qualified to votein the poll. .At present residents and ratepayers can petition for a poll, bitt only ratepayers can vote. The Advisory Committee on Women’s Affairs, chaired by . Miss Colleen Dewe; said that discrimination which was unintentional could occur.

To avoid it. she suggested that a valuation roll be compiled in strict alphabetical order, unless the joint owners wanted it otherwise. This would eliminate any traditional bias in favour of the male, she said. An alternative was to examine the point of maintaining ratepayer status in local polls, as these were infrequent. and could be conducted on the basis of universal or residential status. The Women's Electoral Lobby (Gisborne) said that the wife was not entitled to vote in loan polls, and now would be unable to petition for a poll either. Options were for the Government to allow both ratepayers and residents to petition and vote in a poll, or to grant all people listed on the title' 1 of a property a ratepayer qualification, thus allowing them to petition and vote in polls. Difficulties presented by properties in corporate ownership could be met by setting a ceiling on the number of named persons for each title who may vote, perhaps three. It was no answer for women to insist that they were put first on titles, the submission said, because this would disenfranchise men. The Christchurch City Council submitted that all electors be able to petition and vote on a loan proposal. The Municipal Association and the Counties’ Association supported the’ legislation. A legal opinion sought by the associations concluded that “under the present act dif-

ferent provisions may well apply between those demanding a poll, and those who might ultimately vote upon that poll." “The ratepayer is, as the occupier of land, the person responsible for the payment of rates and thereby the servicing of loans." the associations said. “In our view it is equitable that each property be represented by one person who may exercise a vote on a loan poll. In the case of joint or corporate ownership the parties may select who will exercise the vote in respect of that property." The Mayor of Wellington. Sir Michael Fowler, asked that the need for sanction of the Loans Board and the Minister concerned, for some loans, be waived because of

the time taken under this procedure to process the loan, and the likelihood of loan finance sources disappearing in that time. He asked that these exemptions should apply to redemption, or renewal loans, loans raised under Section 2248 of the Public Works Act (relating to works of national and local importance), and loans funded wholly by the Housing Corporation or the Rural Bank. The Loans Board was instituted in 1926. when local bodies borrowed overseas at considerable eventual cost. Sir Michael said. Methods had changed markedly since ithen. and the current procedures were time-consuming and wasteful of local and central Government resources. he said.