FOUR TOASTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 27, 1 February 1941, Page 12

FOUR TOASTS

JUBILEE LUNCHEON

MINISTER'S ADDRESS'

Lower Hutt, its past, its present, and its future, were the principal subjects of the speakers at the jubilee luncheon, in the Horticultural Hall this afternoon, and the attendance of some hundreds included some whose families have played no small part in the development of Lower Hutt. Representatives of every walk of life were present. '

After the Loyal Toast, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. Parry) proposed the toast of the "City of Lower Hutt," the reply being made by the Mayor (Mr. J. W. Andrews). "Past Administrators" was the next toast, proposed by Mr. E. L. Riddiford and responded to by Mr. W. P. Strand, a former Mayor.

Councillor E. P. Hay proposed the toast of "Kindred Local Bodies and the Municipal Association of New Zealand." Replies were made by the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) and Mr. T. Jordan (president of the Municipal Association). The toast of "Parliament" was proposed by Mr. T. Waugh, and the reply was made by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash), who is the member for the district. THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE. In proposing his toast, Mr. Parry said that as Minister for Local Government he was pleased to take part in the celebrations. The two events were of great importance in the province, and the warmest congratulations to the local authorities and the people of the district were well merited. ' The foundations of self-government in Lower Hutt, he said, based on democratic principles, had enabled the civic development of the tow"n to take place along sound lines, well suited to the character and inherent instincts of the people and hot the least of their thanks were due to those early pioneers who had shaped the first structure of the local government system. The first attempt at formal local government took place in the Hutt Valley on March 2, 1840, when a Council of Colonists held a meeting at Petone to formulate proposals in relation to powers of government entrusted to them by the first band of settlers to leave England under Edward Gibbon Wakefield's scheme of colonisation. Unfortunately, for certain reasons the displeasure of the Lieutenant-Governor was incurred, and he sent the Colonial Secretary (an of- ] fice now designated Minister of Internal Affairs) to Port Nicholson with thirty soldiers to suppress the council as a treasonable, and illegal association. "I must say, in parentheses, that I am not emulating my predecessor of many years in coming here today," the. Minister added. That episode was mentioned to illustrate that the pioneers came to New Zealand • imbued with the spirit of self-government. AMAZING GROWTH OF TOWN. "One can only express amazement at the rapidity of progress made in the borough," said Mr. Parry. "In 1926 the population was 8000; today it is 20,100. Probably no other place in New Zealand can compare • with the rate of population increase in Lower Hutt. That increase has, of course, brought with it a whole host of related problems, such as water supply, drainage, street access, fire protection, and others. These problems have been accentuated by the extensive housing programme the Government hasj undertaken in Lower Hutt to alleviate the shortage of houses. A pleasing feature is the1 close co-operation now enjoyed between the Government and the municipal authority in these schemes,j and the various .services necessary to provide the occupants with the normal amenities." The successive councils had, however, faced many problems as they arose, and the happy results were now apparent. The results were possible because New Zealand, like all truly democratic countries, governed itseli through a system of decentrali sation and delegation. In many mat ters the municipal authorities enjoyed almost complete autonomy. This was essentially true of the planning and physical development of the -towns Any borough council could enact its own legislation in the form of a townplanning scheme, or bylaws for the guidance and control of land, subdivision, roading, the use of land and buildings, the air space about buildings, the structural stability, bulk, height, and external appearance of buildings and the prevention of overcrowding.

"To the extent that these powers artfully and conscientiously used to secure adequate provision for the ad vancement of industry and the health, comfort, and welfare of our people, I am wholeheartedly in favour of the present system," he went on. "I am prepared to do everything I can to enlarge the powers of those local authorities which appreciate and live up to their responsibilities. PROGRESSIVE MUNICIPALITY. "High up in this category must be placed the City of Lower Hutt, which undoubtedly has one of the most progressive councils n the Dominion today. In its previous incarnation as the Lower Hutt Borough Council, its building bylaws were always in line with modern trends. Quite recently the council adopted the first, series of model bylaws prepared by the Standards Institute of New Zealand. In townplanning matters it has been always in t!he forefront of progress. Although its statutory scheme has not yet been

completed, for reasons which are understood and appreciated by the Town Planning Board, the council has been pursuing a clear-cut and farsighted town-planning policy for, many years. I understand- it was one of the" first authorities to appoint a fully qualified town-planning officer to its permanent staff. More recently the council, recognising that its own district could not be regarded as a selfcontained planning unit; has taken a leading part in the preparation of the scheme initiated by the Government for the co-ordination of land uses, communications, and public utilities and services in the Valley. Nothing has given me greater pleasure or satisfaction during my tenure of office than the wholehearted manner in which the local authorities in the Valley have co-operated with the Department of Internal Affairs in the preparation of that scheme and are now, I understand, discussing amongst themselves ways and means of giving effect to the proposals for separate districts and functions. So long as our local authorities are prepared to co-operate in the solution of their common problems for the common good, all things are possible."