Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1938. DUTY OF CITIZENS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 92, 20 April 1938, Page 8

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1938. DUTY OF CITIZENS

For several reasons the municipal election campaign, which opened last night with meetings under the auspices of the Wellington Citizens' Election Committee, is of special importance. One is the intrusion of party politics into local body affairs to which we referred in yesterday's "Post." In the larger freedom of national affairs with .Parliamentary government, the scope of party is well defined, the party in! power being subjected to the. criticism of the party in opposition, with results generally beneficial. In local body affairs all share in the management, and the intrusion of party may lead to deadlocks and a frustration of progress, or, if one party secures control, to extreme action injurious to the welfare of the community as a whole. In municipal government the members of local bodies , are trustees for the public they represent, and their conduct on all occasions should be determined by a consideration of the best interests of that public as a whole and not merely of a section of it. The influence of party tends to make members group themselves in opposition to other groups, and to act not on their individual judgment as to what is the best course to pursue in the general interest, but out of considerations-of party loyalty and solidarity. This in the management/of the affairs of a great city and its institutions, controlled, in the case of Wellington, by the City Council, the Hospital Board, and the Harbour Board, is apt to promote faction and interfere with the practical administration of large civic enterprises and services. Party politics is therefore eminently undesirable in local affairs.

Additional impprtance is lent to the local body elections next month by the magnitude of the public enterprises and responsibilities involved. The City Council itself, as Mr. Hislop pointed out last night as candidate for re-election to the Mayoralty, handles a total annual revenue of nearly £2,000,000, including the turnover from tramways, electricity, and milk'supply.; It;is, as.:a matter of fact, by far the largest municipal body in New Zealand. It is important, therefore, as Mr. Hislop urged, that it "should be controlled by a group representing all the citizens and having prudence, care, and forethought as its guiding principles." To merge the issues of the municipal elections with those of the General Election might well react in a .manner that would jeopardise the interests of citizens and ratepayers who have so large a stake in the management of the city's business. This might be the result of what Mr. Hislop described as "an attempt to cover up the real issues in the municipal campaign by questions which could not affect municipal affairs." So far the City Council has managed the affairs of the city soundly. The municipal enterprises are paying their way, the various services are maintained in good order, attention has been paid to suburban needs, while increases in rates have been entirely due to causes beyond the council's control. All this has been achieved while the council .has paid_ fair wages to its employees under good conditions. This generally satisfactory position could easily be upset by illjudged adventures in costly enterprises involving the city in liabilities it could not meet without a further call on the ratepayer. The housing problem, admittedly difficult in Wellington, as shown by the recent housing survey* is one that calls in this respect for the greatest .care in approach. Mr. Hislop has made himself perfectly clear as to the policy he deems it wise for the city to follow. He referred last night to allegations made by Labour interests that the council had refused to cooperate with the Government in endeavouring to solve the housing problem. He had moved, he said, at a council meeting that they should cooperate by making available for State and private building council- } owned land on the easiest possible terms,1 but every Labour member had voted against the proposal. The only suggestion they had made was to borrow money and start erecting houses, which for one reason among others —that labour could not be obtained—was impossible. It is clear that the policy advocated by the Mayor on that occasion is the only one feasible under the circumstances and capable of producing practical results without the risk of liabilities already described.

Besides voting for the election of Mayor and City Council the citizen and ratepayer on polling day on May 11 will also vote for the election of members of the Harbour Board and Hospital Board. These also are important institutions and great enterprises insomuch as they involve the handling of large sums of money on the scale of big business. The, Harbour Board has always been a wellmanaged enterprise, and so long as the administration of its affairs can be conducted by citizens of experience and integrity, its efficiency and financial stability are not likely to suffer. On, the other hand, the introduction of party politics, as Sir Charles Norwood suggested, might have an adverse influence pn the

future of the port with which the future of the city is so closely wrapped. The Hospital Board is an instance of a local body which has allowed itself to become involved in proposals which certainly do not command anything like unanimous support either on the board itself or among the general public and ratepayers. These proposals, which have been discussed freely during the past few months, illustrate fundamentally the dangers we have outlined. It is for the citizens and ratepayers to signify by their vote the attitude they take towards the proposals and counter-proposals and their sponsors. These are some of the reasons that lend special interest and importance to the local body elections this year, and make it incumbent on voters to exercise their democratic privilege with particular care.