TAKAPUNA MAYORALTY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 628, 3 April 1929, Page 11

TAKAPUNA MAYORALTY

INDICTMENT OF COUNCIL MR. GUINIVEN’S ATTACK “The majority of the members of the present council should be swept right out of office, as by their actions they have shown themselves to be henchmen of the Devonport Ferry Company.” With these words Mr. John Guiniven concluded an indictment of the administration of the Takapuna Borough Council during the past two years, in addressing ratepayers at the Milford Picturedrcme last evening. Mr. Guiniven is a member of the council, and is a candidate for the Mayoralty. On the question of borough finance, Mr. Guiniven asserted that the present net public debt, after making the necessary deductions for accrued sinking funds, stood at £351,498. Last year, interest charges accounted for £23,072 and the borough budget producing a revenue of £44,062,. the council had only' £20,990 for general purposes. Worse still, said Mr. Guiniven, the maintenance of the engineering department, the town, clerk’s office and inspectorial staff cost . the borough £4,541, and finally only £8,895 was available for maintenance. The candidate advocated fusion of the four North Shore boroughs as a means of reducing their overhead charges, which were out of all proportion to the benefits received. Mr. Guiniven also said he would endeavour to arrange co-operation with Northcote in the building of a small bridge across the tidal estuary separating that borough from Takapuna. This would provide a? much shorter route between the two boroughs. Tie also urged that a joint cemetery for these two districts would also be an advantage, financially and otherwise. Dealing with the contract v. daylabour system of carrying out loan expenditure, the speaker said that he had never approved of the application of the contract system to Takapuna. Contractors employed comparatively little local labour, whereas the day-r labour system assisted workers to acquire a stake in the borough and assisted local business houses.

Mr. Guiniven said he was a staunch supporter of the harbour bridge, and he advocated that, the public should endeavour to have the building of it hastened. One main grievance of the speaker was that some of his. colleagues on the retiring council had retarded the construction of the bridge by their hidden opposition to the scheme. “And that is another reason,” said Mr. Guiniven, “why you should sweep them to oblivion on election day.”