ANNUAL JAUNTS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4873, 21 July 1936, Page 5

ANNUAL JAUNTS

LOCAL BODY DELEGATES. ARE THEY NECESSARY ? “The annual jaunt of the representatives of 700 local bodies must cost the people of New Zealand twenty or thirty thousand pounds each year, and though I have been a member of local bodies for many years I have seldom seen anything come; of them,” said Mr. T. M. O’Connell on Monday, in opposing the Waitomo Power Board being represented at the forthcoming Power Boards Conference.

Mr. W. A. Lee, however, held that Mr. O’Connell’s remarks were not justified, and after a discussion it was decided that the chairman, Mr. Simms, should represent the Board at this conference along with the secretary. The latter was also delegated to attend the Secretaries’ Conference and the engineer to attend the Engineers’ Conference.

In reply to Mr. O’Connell’s view that the jaunts of local body members were not justified, Mr. Lee said that if he did not think he had not obtained benefits worth more than the expense of going to Wellington on various occasions, he would resign from public life, but he felt that jaunts to Wellington were usually more than repaid by benefits to the people of the district. “To read the criticisms of local body members one would think we were a lot of scoundrels —but a man who gives years of his life and time for the public good is deserving of a little more credit than he is getting,” contended Mr. V. W. Simms, the chairman of the Board.

Mr. O’Connell pointed out that the annual conference had been postponed for a few years and had never been missed. No redress had been obtained in regard to bulk supply charges, and the only thing to do appeared to be to wait on the Minister of Public Works on the matter. Mr. Lee said that this conference would discuss matters of vital interest to Power Boards and to consumers, and the position should be watched by men who knew Power Board affairs. Though probably amalgamation would be of advantage in many cases, legislation taking control from local bodies should be thoroughly examined.

Mr. Cato said that though not a great deal had been achieved by Power Board conferences, they did give an “inside” look into Power Board work.

Mr. Boddie moved that the Engineers’ and Secretaries’ Conferences be attended by the Boards’ officers, and that at the general conference the Board should not be represented. Mr. O’Connell seconded the motion. Mr. Bluck moved an amendment that the chairman should with the secretary attend the general conference, holding that if the Board should be represented at any conference, it should be at this year’s. The amendment was carried, only Messrs. Boddie and O’Connell voting against it.