ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3831, 16 August 1927, Page 35

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

FINAL DECISIONS OF COMMISSION »— ASHBURTON AND ELLESMERE LINKED. WELLINGTON, August 12. The final decisions of the Electoral Boundaries Commission are published in a supplementary Gazette. A few changes have been made as a result of objecting petitions to the provisional boundaries which were originally defined by commissioners. Some changes in the names of electorates have been effected. In,the Auckland district there is a new electorate called Auckland Suburbs, which from the description given in the Gazette appears to comprise the greater part of the old Eden electoral district. Eden formerly was really a semi-rural electorate. The new Eden, which, when the boundaries were provisionally published, was described as Auckland South, now becomes a city electorate bounded by Grey Lynn, with Auckland Central and Auckland East, ami extending down towards the Manukau road locality. There are no material changes in other Auckland City electorates.

A new electorate, which was provisionally named Mercer, is renamed Ilauraki, and takes in the greater part of Thames electorate. Ohinemuri is done away with and absorbed in Ilauraki, Thames, Tauranga, and Waikato. There have been slight amendments in Tauranga which now extends along the I»ay of Plenty coastline to the boundary of the Bay of Plenty district, near Whakatanc, and along the north of Roto Ehu and Rotoma Lakes. The new name of New Plymouth, as applied to Taranaki stands. SOME SOUTH ISLAND CHANGES. The Rieearton electorate loses some rural territory running from the Main Trunk line to Whitecliffs and takes in a portion south of the line, a corresponding equal area of rural country down to Little River. The latter area comes off the Ellesmere electorate, and the north portion of Rieearton goes into Kaiapoi. The alteicd boundaries will put Templeton and Islington into Kaiapoi. In the opinion of several Canterbury members there will be. now a likelihood that Kaiapoi will become a Labour constituency. So far as Mr 11. S. S. Kyle, the member for Riccarton, is concerned, the alterations are regarded as being in his favour. It ~ interesting to note that his wn farm is inst, cut out of the altered electorate. There are important changes in thrWairan electorate (Mr W. J. -Girling). The Pelorus Riding is cut out of the electorate and nut into Nelson, but territory in the south has been added to Wairau. which now includes Kaikoura County. The southern boundary is now the Conway River, whereas previously it was the Clarence River. Thus Mr Foibes (Hurunui) loses Kaikoura. but takes in Rangiora. which was formerly in the Kaiapoi electorate. s The new electorate to take the place of Ashburton (wiped out) is called midCanterbury. The commissioners have ap patently adhered to their original ideas. Mid-Canterbuiy is a long, narrow electorate running from the sea to the heights of the Southern Alpine Divide. The sea boundaries are the month of the Ashburton River at Hukatere in the south to Haumutu in the north. Methven and Ashburton are in the new electorate. There is now no Ashburton and no Ellesmere electorate. The greater number in the new electorate are at present con stituents of Mr Nosworthy, and his home town. Ashburton, will be the centre of the new electorate. The Temuka electorate is considerably altered bv adding a large slice of ;he present Ashhurton electorate to Temuka. All community of interest of the-added portion with the rest of Temuka is lost. All sentiment, thought, and interest north of the Rangitata River is with Ashburton town as a centre. Likewise, by cutting out the whole of the Mackenzie County (including, of course, the Mackenzie Country) from Temuka and adding it to Waitaki community of interest is destroyed at the southern end. Mr T. D Burnett, the member for Temuka, however, with the mind of the philosopher, mentions that there is this to be said—that in destroying community of interest in parliamentary representation a long step is taken towards breaking down parochialism. The Christchurch North electorate has a portion of Richmond added to it. and a piece lias been taken out of Avon and put into Christchurch North. The alterations in boundaries with the adjoining electorate will not affect the position from a party point of view. There are some other minor alterations. Mr H. Holland (Reform), the present member for Christchurch North, seems quite satisfied with the electorate as ; t now stands.

Tn -Otago the name Otago Central s changed to Central Otago. In Clutha, between Clutlia and Mataura, the new boundary is better than the one originally prorosed bv the commissioners as it throws Waipahi into Mataura and restores all Clinton and Wairuna to Clutha. to which thev rightly belong. The change makes the Clutha electorate much bigger than the old one, but this, in the circumstances, is unavoidable. Mr Waite, the. present member for Clutha, seems ■ uite satisfied with the change. Tho Oamaru electorate is as proposed in the first instance bv the commissioners. Waikouaiti. which for several years was in Waitaki, lias been put once more in the Oamaru constituency. Waitaki has transferred to it the whole of the " "■’ckenzie Country, and has got back a portion of Waimate that formerly was in Temuk*.