NO ACTION

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21900, 19 December 1945, Page 6

NO ACTION

CATCHMENT RATES DEVELOPMENTS AWAITED UNIFORM BASIS WANTED No action on the question of catchment board rating is to be taken by the Poverty Bay Catchment Board, which decided at its meeting yesterday to await further developments. This matter arose thruugh intimation that Parliament had declined to approve ot a limited uniform rate. “It is regretted that the Statutes Re- , vision Committee of the House of Representatives did not approve of the proposed amendment to the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 _ as required by catchment boards, and supported by the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council,” the chairman, Mr. J. A. Hair, stated. “In view of the support given to the proposed amendment by the council, it appeared most obvious that Ministerial support would have been accorded, „ and so facilitated the passing of the ~ proposed measure. It is unfortunate that this lapse of such an important matter has occurred, and that a spanner should have found its way into the legislative mach'nery, thus ' ecessitating a further delay. "Only a Matter of Time”

“It is my belief, however, that it is only a matter of time before the Act will be appropriately amended, giving the necessary authority to levy a limited uniform rate for general purposes and leaving classification to apply to major works,” Mr. Hair declared. “I am glad to be able to state that there was no local opposition to the proposed amendment, and it is, therefore, assumed that the public realise the position and agree that it is tie only realistic and practical approach to our problems. “Rating under classification would be cumbersome, slow and costly, and with the exception of major works would not be in the interests of the ratepayers or the district. A limited uniform rate would have given a 0.i.-'s for operation and an approach to the Soil Conservation Council for subsidies, thus ensuring that most of f iie money would have come from national

sources. It is obvious, despite the delay, that the Act still calls loudly for amendment and until the Act is amended it will curb further activities of the board,” he concluded.