WATER BOARD

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 54, 12 September 1928, Page 9

WATER BOARD

SHOULD IT DISBAND? FEW DISSENTING OPINIONS "LET DOWN BADLY" Tho possibility of the disbandment of the Wellington Water Supply Board was more than hinted at at its meeting to-day, when it was pointed out that a board whose rnenibors v^ted ono way, and the local bodies they represented another, could not continue to function. Tho Mayor '(Mr. G. A. Troup) referring to the fact that the Water Supply Bill had been rejected by the Local Bills Committee, formally moved that it be withdrawn. "The board," said Mr. Troup, "has apparently come to an impasse. The very representatives of the board objected to the Bill,when it came before the Local Bills Committee. I would mako an exception to that general statomont in the case of Mr.'Dyer. The smaller bodies seem to bo pulling in one direction and tho'i-rest in another, and tho work as a whole is being impeded. It is impossible to proceed with tho Bill in Parliament without general unanimity. Speaking for the Wellington.- City Council, I . may say that we have tried to meet the wishes of tho local bodies in many ways, even to our own disadvantage. .. Members will remember that we were prepared to make concessions in regard to the ljresent supply. We had no need to do so, but we did it. I think that tho members of the local bodies must agree that the City Council has been magnanimous in the attitude it has taken to bring the local bodies together so that the right feeling could have been established, bearing in mind the fact that ono of these days wo may all be under the one control. "It seems, however, that the efiorts have been either misunderstood or misinterpreted, but as it stands now there appears to me to be only one thing to be done, and that is that one body must take over the control of the ■whole thing. In the opinion of the City Council, it could obtain control of the whole area, with the consent of the board, allowing any of the local bodies to come in at any time they wished to do so, or wo could supply them with the water at the same rate as it was costing us in Wellington. That may be a way out. I want to say, in regard to the promise that we formerly made in regard to Wainui, now that the Bill has been struck out, that promise must now bo considered as having lapsed. Tho City Council is certainly not going to give to tho local bodies supplies from the Wainui or Orongorongo when the local bodies will not allow it to develop the Hutt Stream, but have put such an embargo on it that we cannot proceed. That is the position. "We regret very much that it has come to this, but there it is," concluded Mr. Troup. "Principally | through the action of the Petone Borough Council and the Hutt County, the Bill has been thrown out, and we find ourselves in this position." Mr. S. Dyer (Upper Hutt) said that the Hutt County Council had been consistent throughout. It surprised him that the Mayor should withdraw the promise, because tho conditions to-day were exactly the same as when it was made. The Mayor read the original motion containing the promise to show that in tho circumstances the council could do nothing ehc. It had.lapsedviv CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE. Mr. Dyer said that no local bodies desired to depart from the agreement, tut the whole trouble was that the board had been unable to make a definite statement of the sources of the water, and in that case there could be no statement as to a definite scheme. There had been an una-ceountable delay in bringing down a report of the block of land it was desirable to purchase. He thought that there should be an independent opinion on tho whole question of the land to bo acquired, and suggested an outside man. • The whole trouble would disappear as soon as they stated what blocks were necessary to supply tho local bodies. UP TO THE OBJECTORS. Mr. W. T. Strand said that he was not surprised to hear the suggestion from the City Council, but he was sorry that it had com© to this. "My feeling, and the feeling of my council, with one exception," said Mr. Strand, "is that the responsibility lies on those who have been responsible for lulling the measure to bring down something practicable. The position is an awkward one. What guarantee have we that if £10,000 is spent on the scheme, in order to find out what we should do, the same people will not bring objections again before the House and the Local Bills Committee? A great deal was said of the tremendous burden on the smaller local bodies, but it was just as heavy on tho larger body, which would havo to find 80 per cent, of the money. Tho people outside the city were just as well able to pay as those in the city and its immediate districts. No tremendous burden was to be placed on the smaller local bodies, but there was no guarantee that existing differences of opinion would not coutinue. If everyone was to be left without an adequate- supply until the local bodies, apart from their representatives on tho board, agreed, it would be a long time before the scheme •was developed. I am going to ask the toard that if there is any question of the development of tho Orongorongo scheme, our wants may be at least considered in it. I feel that wo cannot, and the local bodies adjacent cannot, carry the expenditure for a water supply for the Hutt and Petono, and tho surrounding districts on our own. HUTT AND CITY. "When tho Bill was killed I took the opportunity of consulting with Mr. Moriee, who, I believe, has more data in his hands than anyono elso in New Zealand," said Mr. Strand, "and he assured mo that without any land acquisition it would cost £200,000 to run a main and acqueduct to Petone, from the Whakatikei. That was not taking it round to Eastbourne. It is essential to have an above ground water supply for the Hutt Borough. We are anxious to get it, and we want to work in with the City Council, and as far as possiblo with tho adjacent local bodies. If it cannot be that the adjacent local bodies work in, we want you to realise in your deliberations that we are anxious to work in with the city." Mr. H.. A. Huggins seconded the motion that tho Bill bo formally withdrawn. Wellington was to carry the Bum of £3000, yet the smaller bodies feared the expense. If they wanted an outside report the city could not pay for it. What was the tune to which the malcontents wanted Wellington to danee1? Nobody knew. It was stated that there had been innuendos in regard to members of the board, as a member of which he claimed a full inquiry. The board had clean hands, and wanted it known Wellington was in no hurry. It had water enough for the next thirty years. To make the generous gift of the Government of no value for the sake of a few pounds, seemed to him to be most discreditable. The only thing to do was to say "Go on with your own scheme, and get your own water." Mr. P. Robertson agreed with

the Mayor's outline. He took no objection to the action of Lower Hutt, which had been consistent; but Petono, after voting as it had, should havo been loyal. It was timo to take stock. PETONE'S OPPOSITION. Mr. M'Kenzio said that the Petono Borough Council had opposed the Bill on tho grounds that tho expenditure would bo high. There was no doubt that the water supply would bo'excellent, but they had to ascertain that the expenditure would not be unbearable. The position of the water supply had [ not been decided upon, and the land should not bo acquired until this was decided. The expenditure on the board was, in his opinion^ extravagantly high, and things were gone into too rashly. Petoue could not afford to pay £900 a year. He had objected to the appointment of the forestry officer, whoso duties could have been done in the beginning by a good bushnian. Mr. Strand: "Surely, I may bo permitted to smile." I Mr. M'Kenssie again stressed tho point that there was enough land given in the Upper Hutt by the Government, and no more land in other places should be bought until the position of tho supply was determined. Mr. A. W. Press (Eastbourne) said that Eastbourne had always supported the board, and he wished to tako tho stand of Mr. Strand. COMPETENT ADVISEES. Mr. E. Semple said that, whatovor the fate of the Bill, he was opposed to seeking outside advice. The engineering staff compared favourably \yith any. Mr. Moriee was highly qualified, particularly in the possession of data, and there was no man so transparently honest. Mr. Dyer: "That's not in question." llr. Semple: "It is. When you bring in a man from outside ignorant of local facts it is insulting to our own men who occupy trust positions." Mr. Dyer: "Wo have had mistakes in the Wellington City Council." Mr. Semple: "I daresay even you have made little bits of blunders." Mr. Dyer: .'"You wanted an outsTHe opinion on the Northland .tunnel." Mr. Semple: "You are making a mistake there. I never asked for ono. Tho city engineering staff is quite competent. '' He was sorry ■ tho Bill had been killed, but there was undoubtedly a suspicion that if land were acquired without reports it might be a burden on the people in the future. He believed that it was for that reason that the committee was so luke-warm about tho Bill. He did not suggest that the criticism was based on fact. Instead of developing a unique possibility the board now threatened to break into self-seek-ing groups. The Government would bo justified in taking the whole thing from them as a "lot of messers." The Government had been very good to them. Petone, in the event of a split of the board, would be in an impossible position. He agreed with Mr. Strand that tho responsibility was a tremendous one. He had seen only a fortnight's water in the Wainui dam. It might go dry at any time. Mr. Strand: "Tho best thing that could happen." Mr. Semple said that as far as Wellington was concerned the Wainui scheme could be developed to suit the city for a hundred years. It was the adjoining boroughs that were in danger. It was for the whole community to combine to protect posterity in the suburban districts. PRAISEWORTHY RESTRAINT. Mr. 11. D. Bennett congratulated the Mayor on tho restraint he had shown, knowing tho feeling of the City Council. It semced to him that in the early lifo of tho board it was found that its birth was on faulty lines. It had now been found unworkable. He supported in a friendly way the abandonment of the original proposal that the sources of water should bo controlled by contributing bodies and tho city. The City Council; carrying 80 per cent, of tho responsibility, had realised that it was giving away its powers to give others the opportunity of showing themselves capable guardians of public interest. The basis of future works needed careful consideration. The present system should be abandoned. If that were so it would not follow that thegifted estate should revert to the State. There should be a straight-out acknowledgement that they could not work together, but that the land should be vested in the City Council, with safeguards of the requirements of the people, whose interests had not been adequately represented by its present representatives, who were not serving the interests of the people by the actions they were taking. The position was approaching a climax he had foreseen in getting outside bodies to see eye to eye with the City Council. He "hoped never to be faced with the position as representative of tho board before the Local Bills Committee. Nothing was asked for by the board but the proposals in the original Bill, which gave the right to buy land in the watershed area. What-was asked for in the Amending Bill was exactly the same thing, and the only reason for the amendment was to clarify an inadequate clause in the original Bill. All the board wished to do was to have access assured to the land authorised originally and means of dealing with titles affected by following tho ridges of the catchment area. To obtain outside advice would bo adding insult to injury. The board should confer with the City Council and see what it was willing to do in taking the whole responsibility for the district. If those offers by the City Council were considered satisfactory, tho board should at once go into liquidation. The city could take over the forestry officer and all the other responsibilities. Mr. Morpeth supported the withdrawal of the Bill, but deplored the fact that sand had been thrown into the bearings. Three of the bodies supported tho board, but the others had succeeded in blocking the Bill, in spite of alarming reports of goitre in the Hutt Valle}'. It was a big responsibility. BILL TO BE WITHDRAWN. The Mayor said that with regard to Petone's expenditure the Bill only proposed purchase of £.35,000 worth of land, not £55,000, and the interest was only £2275. Petone's proportion at 8 per cent, more than would be charged was only £182 extra, yet for that amount Petone had wrecked the scheme. It has only authority to purchase, not immediately, but as required, which was sought in the Bill. The board desired increased expenditure to mako accurate investigations for information which it had never been possible to obtain. Where was tho money coming from for outside advice? The proper source of water it was imperative to know, and it was for this that tho extra finance was required. No board could continue to function when its members voted one way and the local bodies they represented another. Tho motion to withdraw the Bill was carried.