Action on noise control officers delayed

Press, 28 June 1983, Page 9

Action on noise control officers delayed

A decision on whether noise control officers will be appointed by the Riccarton Borough Council will be left to the council’s finances and by-laws committee. The council last evening decided not to make a decision on how it would administer the Noise Control Act until the committee, which will meet in mid-July, had discussed the issue and made a recommendation. In a report presented to the council last evening, the borough health inspector, Mr W. Heney, said that he believed any noise control officers appointed by the council would face an “unacceptable” element of risk in enforcing the act. “I remain unconvinced that the presence of a policeman is an absolute

guarantee of the safety of a noise control officer in all circumstances,” he said. He would be prepared to investigate complaints of noise, but only from the roadside or from the complainant’s house, Mr Heney said. “Under no circumstances will I enter private property when a noisy party is being held — with or without a police escort — as I consider the risk to be both excessive and unjustifiable,” he said. Mr Heney also said that it would be impossible for smaller local authorities to provide an effective afterhours noise control service. Electricity The price of electricity in Riccarton would be higher,

not lower, if power supply authorities standardised their electricity tariffs, the Mayor of Riccarton, Mr R. W. J. Harrington, told the council. Mr Harrington was commenting on a statement made last week by the Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, that electricity prices in Christchurch could be trimmed if supply authorities “rationalised” their activities and stopped transferring surpluses to other local-body work. Mr Harrington said that consumers in Riccarton were “getting a good deal.” The domestic electricity tariff charged by the council was one of the lowest in New Zealand. If prices charged by Christchurch supply authorities were standardised, Riccarton consumers would pay more.