PETONE MEETING

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 108, 10 May 1938, Page 8

PETONE MEETING

LABOUR CANDIDATES

MANY TOPICS TOUCHED

The Mayor (Mr. A. Scholefield) and other Labour Party candidates, addressed a meeting of Petone electors in the Wilford School last evening. Mr. G. Findlay presided over an attendance of twenty.

Mr. Scholefield said that it was impossible to carry out the tar sealing of all the streets in the borough in three ! years, as claimed by the Citizens : candidates. It was not necessary for , a Mayor to spend all his time at the office, nor was it essential that he : should be born in Petone. Mr A. Spurr said that since the ad- [ vent 'of the Labour Party the scope of municipal politics had widened, as there was no need now for skimping. He believed that municipal politics were entering on a new era. The Labour candidates on the council had done fine work and he hoped to be able to assist them. Mr. J. Cumming stated that the Labour candidates had always pressed for the widening of Jackson Street and had stood out for the setting back of Hepworth's building to complete the scheme. He did not think the tarsealing of the streets could be completed out of' ordinary revenue, and a loan would be necessary. He strongly advocated the reclamation of land in the vicinity of Petone. Mr. J. Huggan said that the reafforestation scheme at Korokoro was basically sound. He had, been advocating the appointment of a full-time traffic inspector for some time past. Mr. S. R. Goodman said that this was not the time to talk about high rates, as a new era was dawning. High costs were not due to high wages, but to high finance. He advocated the closest co-operation between the national Government and the local bodies. Mr. W. H. Edwards said that he had sat under three Mayors and none was more worthy than Mr. Scholefield. The Labour Party did not stand for sectional interests. Mr. W> P. Feeley considered that the price of power was too high. The cost to the'consumer should be less arid the price, of electric appliances should be lowered. * ' . ; Mr. George Jones said that his connection with the borough as an employee should stand the council ■in good stead. A vote of thanks was passed to the speakers. , Mr. W. T. Morrison, a candidate for Borough Council and ;the Hutt River Board, submitted figures showing the number of suburban trains serving the borough daily, and also the number of buses. He expressed the opinion that there should be co-ordination between all forms of transport so as to eliminate waste. He said that the ' .shopping centre' of' Lower Hutt n6eded' brightening up, and there should be more provision of public conveniences and restrooms. :l 1 ,

Mr. H. Fairclough contended that the action of the council in allowing building to take place at the corner ot Randwick and Park Roads without a greater splay created a menace. He had it on the best authority that land was offered to the council to allow this to be done, but someone had blundered.

NO GROUND FOR CRITICISM

One . would think, to read the Labour "Herald,'' .that -the Labour Councillors possess a monopoly in ability to scrutinise expenditure to ensure that ratepayers will have lull value for rates paid, said Mr. 'N< jW. Nelson, a Citizens' candidate for the City Council* last night, but if there was one thing that the Mayor and his colleagues had done during, the past three years it was to husband the finances of the city. Not only the general account, but each account of the trading departments was in a most healthy condition; "I will be generous enough," said Mr. Nelson, "to state that in this happy state of affairs Councillor Chapman and his friends have done their part, but he in turn must concede that they could not have done the job on their own."

ADVOCATE OF TROLLEYBUSES

i Speaking at Aro Street last night, Mr. R. McKeen, a Labour candidate for the City Council and . the Harbour Board, said that he was definitely of the opinion that there should be an investigation ; into transport services with the' object of providing better transport facilities to the outlying suburbs. There were excellent building sites ia Ohiro Bay, Houghton Bay, and. Melrose, but owing to the lack ot proper transport people refused to reside there. The most economic and comfortable up-to-date system of transport for those districts was the - trolley bus. : THe present buses were cumber? some and costly, but that should not be any reason for the poor transport facilities in those districts.