Development council ‘another quango’

Press, 19 April 1984, Page 9

Development council ‘another quango’

The role of the recently established Canterbury Regional Development Council has been criticised by a Lyttelton Harbour Board member, Mrs Judith Waters. Mrs Waters told a meeting of the board yesterday that she considered the council was “just another quango.” The council was creating administrative work that should be handled by the Canterbury United Council, she said. The council had written to the board seeking information on projects which could benefit Canterbury. It also asked the board to indicate the type of assist-

ance it might require. The Development Council was established by the Minister of Regional Development, Mr Birch, in December.

Mrs Waters said that there had been a proliferation of councils in Canterbury and asked where it was going to end. “The whole thing is a waste of time,” she said. “The money is not going to the people who need it.” The board decided to write to the council advising of its plans to ensure the continued export of West Coast coal through the Port of Lyttelton. The board’s general manager, Mr lan Broken-

shire, said it was to the board’s advantage to inform all Canterbury organisations of its plans. Trading licences Two waterfront trading licences have been approved by the board. The Bernina Sewing Centre had applied to sell second-hand sewing machines to Russian and Polish vessels, and a Lyttelton firm, N. R. Johnson, had applied to sell electrical appliances to Japanese, Russian, and Korean vessels. The applications were approved on the recommendation of the board’s traffic manager.