‘Sudden flip’ in views criticised

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 8

‘Sudden flip’ in views criticised

Two members of the Local Government Commission were criticised by the Waimairi District Council yesterday for a “sudden flip” in views on amalgamation survey provisions.

The Waimairi District Council called for the resignation of the commission’s chairman, Mr Brian Elwood, and a member, Ms Vicki Buck, after they had publicly criticised the survey provisions for council mergers.

Waimairi had begun to dispute the survey last year as "undemocratic” but had received no support from the commission. The survey is designed only to measure opposition to an amalgamation proposal and not support.

The chairman of the District Council, Mrs Margaret Murray, said she was amazed and puzzled at why members of the commission should now agree with Waimairi.

Ms Buck, who is also a Christchurch City councillor, told the City Council on Monday of her opposition to the survey provi-

sions. She said that she had hoped the issue would have been raised by the City, Waimairi, Heathcote, or Riccarton councils. Waimairi had sent a long series of letters to members of Parliament, the Minister of Local Government, Dr Bassett, and the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, pleading for changes to the survey provisions.

“The Queen was the only stone we left unturned. We should have written to her as well; perhaps she would have listened to us,” said Mrs Murray. The seeming “sudden flip” by commission members could only be seen as “hollow and hypocritical words” to residents of Waimairi.

“If the commission is not going to take any notice of us, why should we take any notice of the commission at this late stage,” Mrs Murray said.

Cr Brian Shackel said Waimairi had felt “from the beginning” that the commission’s brief was loaded against smaller communities. People who

had died or moved out of the area would be counted as being in favour of an amalgamation proposal under a survey in its present form.

For the commission to change its view now was “totally dishonest.” “I couldn’t trust people like that to have authority in this country,” said Cr Shackel.

It seemed that members of the commission could not handle responsibility, he said. Cr Des King said he hoped Mrs Murray was wrong. It was possible the commission had now “seen the light” and had changed their minds.

"If that is the case we have got to accept that they are big enough to admit they were wrong,” he said.

While Mrs Murray was angered at the comments by Ms Buck, they were welcomed by the chairman of the Heathcote County Council Mr Oscar Alpers. He said yesterday that he was glad the commission and the City Council had “at long last seen the

iniquities within the present provisions.” He said the next step was for the Minister of Local Government to promote a change to the law — a change which the Christchurch councils had sought since March, 1985. “The Heathcote County Council has always supported the holding of r a poll where electors can vote either for or against the reorganisation proposal. It is hoped now, with the support of a major council and the commission, the Government will move to restoring some democracy to the electors in reorganisation matters/’

He said Heathcote had written to members of Parliament and the Minister of Local Government about the survey provisions. It had been told the provisions were “not negotiable,” said Mr Alpers. He had again raised the matters with Dr Bassett and the member of Parliament for Lyttelton, Mrs Hercus, in light of the comments from Ms Buck and the City Council.