The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1824. THE POVERTY BAY POWER BOARD.

Gisborne Times, Volume LX, Issue 9728, 11 June 1924, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1824. THE POVERTY BAY POWER BOARD.

Tlio calling for nominations in respect of tha proposed Poverty Bay Bower Board lias not been productive of that amount of public interest which is needed to ensure that it will be, from the outset, a ••live wire” institution. it will bo noted that Waikohu County and Cook County have elected their quotas to the Board without having an electoral contest. In some quarters such a state of affairs may be taken to signify a laudable indication of unanimity. But what if it should turn out that all that these particular members agree upon is—to do next to nothing 1 In the case of the borough itself the occasion is not to be allowed to pass without the bolding of an election. But the contest will merely be on the general lines of municipal elections nowadays. On the one hand, Labor is putting a full team in the held and on the other side are a number of candidates who will, doubtless, claim to represent all classes—and not one particular class —of the community. We do not, of course, suggest that Labor should not be represented on the proposed Board. What wo do say, however, is this: that, if the Power Board is to be a success, it will require the best business and administrative! lif a ins at the disposal, of the electors. It has been found .in other districts that, even where -the electors have, been practically unanimous as to the source from which the water-power should be; taken, Power Boards to not turn out to bo “happy families.” The main thing to be. borne in mindi in) this connection is that, if a Power Board does l not succeed in making any venture that it embarks upon a profitablei concern, the deficit each year has to be made up by mean's of rating. As it so happens, a Power Board differs radically from most forms of local bodies in' that it requires to be conducted purely on five lines of a commercial undertaking. It is not the position that all it lias to do is to place before" the electors a project recommended by experts and, if it be adopted, merely trust to luck as to the results. A Power Board has to do a tremendous amount of or- ; gaiiising and canvassing and it may! turn out that it can locate a much more profitable route than, say, another recommended by its export advisers. In view of the special nature of the function's of a Power Board, wo shall await with interest any indications that-may bo given of policy lines by all .aspirants for seats j as representatives of ’the borough. Thebe are already signs that a; big struggle is ahead on the question) of the source of supply. But as R> ■ that matter, we shall have more to say later on. What,

ia ' tho meantime, we cannot stress too strongly is that we arer afraid; it is not generally realised that the proposed Power 'Board should prove to he, perhaps; tho most important local hody. Whether it will do so remains to he seen. !For our own part we aro afraid that the apathy to which wo have refernedl is, not a good sign. Wo shall he ed if it should be found that wc are mistaken.