New electorate name ludicrous—M.P.

Press, 10 November 1986, Page 8

New electorate name ludicrous—M.P.

Members of the Electoral Representation Commission do not know the geography of the South Island, said the member of Parliament for Ashburton, Mr Rob Talbot, yesterday.

The commission last week released its proposed electorate boundaries and names for the next General Election. The Ashburton seat would move north into part of the present Selwyn electorate and be renamed South Canterbury.

Mr Talbot described the name change as “ludicrous and unsustainable.” The new electorate would have only a small fringe in South Canterbury, and be centred • “fair and square” in Ashburton town and county. Yet the new electorate would be called South Canterbury, he said.

“Do they not know the geography of the South Island?” he asked. There was more reason to call it South Canterbury before its

boundaries shifted north, he said.

Mr Talbot, who will retire from Parliament next year, said that he would lodge an objection to the name change, but that he was happy with the new boundary itself. The electorate would retain a community ofinterest, and the National Party’s candidate, Ms Jenny Shipley, would have little trouble winning the “solid National seat,” Mr Talbot said.