THE MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 128, 1 May 1941, Page 9

THE MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

OPENING ADDRESS f

MR TENNENT’S PLATFORM. VIEWS ON ADMINISTRATION. Opening his campaign for the Mayoralty, Mr W. 13. Tennent spoke in the Coronation Hall last evening, there being a large attendance. The chair was occupied, by Mr J. Davidson, and at the ciose ot the address a motion of confidence l in Mr Tennent’s candidature was carried unanimously. The gathering was opened with the singing ot the National Anthem.

“There can be no charge that any one individual is forcing an election upon the people,” commented Mr Tonnent in Ins opening remarks, in which ho outlined tile circumstances leading up to the holding or the elections.

"It call be said without any tear of contradiction that the affairs of this city are in very good shape,” continued Mr Tennent. “At March 31, 1941, our capital and unimproved value amounted to over £8 250,000, while our total loan indebtedness has lieen reduced to £814,501, against which must be set £05,812 of accrued sinking fund, leaving a nett indebtedness of £748 081). If no further loans are raised we will be entirely free of debt by 1900. Our general civic amenities arc good, and the affairs of the various departments are being well eared lor.

“The council as a whole are responsible for this. The work of the council is not that of any one individual, but is an excellent example of good teamwork. The past council has been one of tin l finest we have had in Palmerston North. Further, as a member of the council for the past eight years, may J modestly claim a .share, with the other councillors, of any praise due for the sound and satisfactory state of the city’s finances.”

Proceeding, Mr Tennent referred to flic abattoir committee, saying that this department could not expect large profits because of the heavy overhead expenses, such as interest and sinking fund, compared with flic relatively small receipts which could be obtained. While there was a licit working loss of £917 7s Id in the year ended March Ml, 19-10. in the last year there had been a working profit ot £312 3<. r l lie working of the department reflected credit on Cr W. Moulder and his committee, and the figures showed careful attention to the details of management. . ,

As head of the cemetery committee Cr J. T. J. Heatley had shown groat enthusiasm and the cemeteries were greatly improved, and a credit to him. The transit department had had a very heavy uphill fight and now, through careful and capable management'’was considerably improving its position. At March 31, 19-10, there was

a working loss of £lO4, a great improvement over previous years, and this year there was a working profit of £340, excluding interest and sinking fund. The motor-bus revenue had improved by £2OOO and the performance of the department reflected the greatest credit on Cr D. J’’. Sinillie. The city owed a great debt to him for his knowledge and experience made available to the department, but he would be the first to admit that ibe position was due also _to the cooperation from his committee and the members of the council. MARKS OF PROGRESS.

Of all the departments in the council none showed a more striking change and greater progress than the horary, said Mr Tennent. In October, 1938, the membership was as low as 1172, but it was now 9099. The book issues had risen, correspondingly, from 120, 817 to 321, 431. The results, particularly as they were brought about without any outside assistance, were a monument to the work of Cr. ’NY . G. JJlack and other members of the library committee, and the librarian (Mr H. Greenwood). To-day the city had a book issue that was the fourth

highest in New Zealand and, on a population basis, was possibly the highest 'iit New Zealand. The library should be conducted so that every mail, woman and child would have the means of sell-education and recreational reading. It. was a policy which the speaker, within reasonable financial .limits, would endeavour to carry still further.

The speaker paid a tribute to the work ot the reserves committee under the chairmanship of Cr. G. Tremaine, who had been most diligent, and the beauty of those assets of the city was due largely to the enthusiasm of the committee and the work ol the city curator, Mr P. Black.

In his eight years as a 11101111101' of the council he had served on all the committees except the reserves committee, continued Mr Tennent. For the last three years he had been chairman of the lighting committee. This controlled both the electric lighting and gas undertakings, which were the

largest trading concerns in the council, their combined turnover being approximately £150,000 a year. “Four years ago 1 was one of those who could see that the time had arrived when the gas department and electricity department should bo under separate management and to-day 1 make 110 apology lor moving in this direction, because time lias now proved the wisdom of that step,” Mi Tennent continued. He traced the subsequent steps taken in this department, and said that in four years the output of gas had increased bv 23.3 i>er cent, and the units of electricity by 18 per cent. Although the gas department could not meet all capital expenditure out of revenue, it had for the past four years been able to meet its interest and sinking fund, a position which it was able to do for only one halfyear Lll the previous period. Conducted 011 its present lines, the department, which at one time looked to be in a hopeless position, would gradually strengthen its position. Dealing with the electricity department, tlie speaker said that the policy had been to give the consumers the best service at as reasonable a rate as possible, and to meet any capital expenditure out of revenue without recurrence to loans. This policy was sound. A great industrial advancement was visualised for the city. Cheap power and light, along with reasonable prices for land, would encourage the commercial user to establish manufacturing businesses here, and to foster this it was proposed to make further reductions in the commercial rate for electricity this year. In the last five years the load had increased b.y between 7 and 8 per cent., the capital outlay had been increased by 19 per cent, (all from revenue) and the Joan liability had been reduced by 10 per cent. The sinking fund reserve had been increased by £2944 (after paying £4G4B off the loan liability) and the amount for the replacement of plant increased by £21,755, or GO per cent. Mr Tennent said he did not take the credit to himself for tlie position of these departments. It was due to the excellent co-opera-tion and assistance of those associated with him. STATE OF WATER SUPPLIES.

Tile speaker reviewed the city’s water supplies in detail and said that the reason why residents so often got dirty water from Tiritea was that the reservoir was simply a damming or tlie stream. “We have no means ol allowing the sediment in the water to settle, and when any fresh occurs in | the stream such a strain is placed on the filters that they cannot possibly handle it. Tiritea can provide all tlie water required for many years to come -—for a population of 40.000 —if further storage is provided by means of a second dam and provision made to bypass the flood water around the lower dam. The cost of such a scheme would he £104.900 and could not be considered while tlie war was on. if further additions to the water supply were necessary, we could sink lurther * artesian wells in the southern and western parts of the city. The cost of such a scheme would not he heavy and could well carry us over until we were able to go ahead with the major scheme.” The Pohangina scheme was one which would supply all tlie water this city would require with a population of ]OO.OOO. but its cost of approximately three-quarters ot a million pounds made it out of the question for many years to come.

The necessity for the greatest effort to be put into-war wof'k was dealt with bv Mr Tennent also, and he said that Palmerston North had always been to the fore in anv such effort in New Zealand. Tf lie'were elected Mayor lie would strive to the limit to lead the city in an even greater and more united war effort than it had yet achieved. This was perhaps the greatest and most important duty of the Mayor of such a city could perform to-dnv. FACING THE FUTURE.

“On the economic side, the country is coming face to face with probably the greatest financial crisis in its history, through the inability to provide the" necessary shipping space for our meat and butter,” proceeded Mr Tennent. “Nothing must lie allowed to interfere with our war effort and tlie ability of the individual to contribute his share to war finance. For this reason the affairs of our city must lie run on lines of most rigid economy. Only those development works which are of vital importance must be undertaken, and every endeavour must be made to prevent any increase in rates. The past council has none very good work in not increasing rates—particularly when one considers the great increase in working costs, and it will be my endeavour to maintain this standard.

“Wo must face the fact that there is going to he a period after this war in which many men will be dependent 011 the State for assistance in finding work,” commented Mr Tennent. “This time we must have some constructive plan to provide works which will assist the Government in its difficult task. During the last de-

pression the City Council set aside certain sums of money, known, as the Mayor’s Relief Fund, which, together with money from other sources in the city (the 11.&.A. and the Citizens’ Committee) was. used to assist those in distress. This fund, which was disbursed by the Mayor, was used to allow ratepayers to work off their rates and light. However, in any scheme for dealing with unemployment we must remember that never again can we have men spending their days digging the grass on the side of the roads to let it grow and be dug again.”

Mr Tennent spoke of the cost that would be entailed in converting the • municipal baths into tepid baths, and i said that the latest estimate was £G33G. This meant that interest, sinking mini anil extra wages for fulltime attendants would cost £9BO per annum extra. However, with the facilities available and no opposition in the district the income of the baths should increase to four times its present amount. The extra cost to the ratepayers under these circumstances would be £OOO per year, which would diminish as the population grew. The speaker commended a far-sight-ed policy in the provision of adequate reserves and saiii that in Palmerston North they were an asset of which citizens might well be proud. At the I present time the playing areas in the I city were adequate. Out no more than I that. It was necessary, therefore, to 1 plan ahead, with a scheme for the next 40 years. The additional reserves should not bo laid out forthwith, but 11 long-term plan should be prepared and the necessary areas set as.de. They should lie laid out to provide, as it were, a belt round the city. He referred to the development of Anzac Park, the Centennial drive (around the Holiouhit.il Lagoon) and touched also on the possibilities, when the construction of the Milson deviation is completed after the war, of making a boulevard of Main Street, with the removal of the railway lines. 'While no immediate action could be taken, it had to be kept in mind that The Opera House would need to bo larger to serve a much greater population, said Mr Tennent, and the lil>rarv, now serving admirably, might later he too valuable a building to continue as such. The city had 110 art gallery. “We should have in our city a block of buildings which should be the centre of our civic life —our council chambers, town hall, library, art gallery, all representing facets in ourj civic and cultural life. The cost of such a scheme would bo far outside our capacity at present to meet in one sum, and could not be entertained but, with the coming removal of the station and railway line from the middle of our city, wc should get the best brains possible to prepare for us a plan, which could be developed, stop by step, say, every ten years, until in time we have what would be a further wonderful asset, and he something to which we could point with pride as the result of long-distance planning by men who

had flic vision to see for this city a wonderful future. “POSITION SHOULD GO ROUND.” “I feel, also, that the position' of Mayor is one which should go around to men who have rendered good service to the city,” concluded Mr Tennent. “While in Dunedin recently, I found that of all the Mayors in that city, most of them had served only olio term and few, if any, had served more than two. Sir Ernest Davis, in Auckland recently, announcing his intention not to stand, said the office ot Mayor was one which should not be held for long terms by any one man; and lie was standing down to let some other man have the reward for good service. “I trust that you will feel that 1 am worthy of this honour,” said Mr Tennent, who said he would not later be a candidate tor Parliamentary honours. “If you do and I am elected, I can assure you that I will, to the utmost of my ability, carry out my duties with the decorum due to the office.”

Q UESTIONS SU BMITT ED. The Manawatu Master Butchers’ Association put forward a question as to whether Mr Tennent was in favour of appointing a master butcher in an advisory capacity to the abattoir committee. Mr Tennent said that this would establish a precedent and, if it were done, would he a vote of no confidence in the abattoir manager. 11 the Master Butchers’ Association wished to make representations it should write to the council outlining anything with which it was not satisfied. Asked by Mr G. M. Bauson if the electric hot-water heating service could not be improved, Mr Tennent replied that over of) per cent of the ‘20,000,000 units used annually in the city were employed in hot-water heating, whereas lighting consumed but U 7 per cent. The city had a ‘2ll-hour water-heating service and this had been reduced by 10 per cent (with a 12} per cent reduction in cost) at the request of the Government. Further, the chargo for water-heating was the lowest in .Vow Zealand. To another questioner Mr Tennent replied that he was not in favour of water from soak wells beside the river being pumped into the mains, because of the risk of contamination. Mr T. M. N. Rodgers moved that the meeting place on record its gratitude to Mr Tennent and express confidence in him as a Mayoral candidate. This was seconded by Air S. H. Snell and carried unanimously. AT TAKARO TO.-NIGIIT. The keen community spirit that characterises the Takaro district should ensure a large attendance at Mr Torment's meeting to-night. Mayoral matters are already provoking very keen interest, Mr lennent’s meeting at. the Coronation Hall being the largest, gathering of its kind there for many years. A very able platform speaker, with a sound and attractive policy, he should have a good meeting to-night at 8 o'clock in the 'takaro Uali.