CONFERENCE OPENS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20672, 10 March 1937, Page 10

CONFERENCE OPENS

N.Z. MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION WELCOME EXTENDED TO DELEGATES MINISTER’S ADDRESS Timaru extended a hearty welcome to delegates attending the annual conf: nee of the Municipal Association of New Zealand when the twentyseventh gathering was opened in the Caroline Bay Hall last night in the presence of the Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. W. E. Parry). The delegates were welcomed by the Mayor of Timaru (Mr P. C. Vinnell), after which the chair was taken by Mr T. Jordan (Mayor of Masterton), president of the Association. The Mayor recalled that twelve months ago at Napier, when the Association was considering the venue of the next conference, Timaru was decided on. That invitation, which came through the Timaru Borough Council, was put forward by the late Mr T. W. Satterthwaite, then Mayor of Timaru, and he could not let the occasion pass without expressing' personal regret that Mr Satterthwaite did not live to extend a reception to the delegates. Mr Satterthwaite did a great deal for Timaru during the 25 years he was in the public service of the town. Fate had ordained that he should take Mr Satterthwaite’s place, and he wanted to extend the same cordial reception i" the late Mayor would have done.

The object of the twenty-seventh conference of the Association, said Mr Vinnell, was to co-ordinate views on various matters with the intention al placing the decisions before the Minister of Internal Affairs to obtain his support wherever possible. He was glad of the opportunity of welcoming the Minister to Timaru. It was his first visit to the town, and while t was long overdue it was better late than never. Mr Parry had worked hard as Minister of Internal Affairs. His university had been the hard school of life. Mr Vinnell said he had known him for years and he was sure that if Mr Parry could do anything to improve the existing legislation affecting municipalities, the conference could depend on him to do his best. He would not sit on the job, and if the delegates did not all agree with him politically, they would all respect him.

In extending a welcome to Mr Jordan, the Mayor described him as an excellent chairman who had accomplished valuable work in the Interests of the Association. Were People at Fault? During the week, continued Mr Vinnell, delegates would be called upoi to discuss a number of remits. Some had been passed unanimously for mans 7 years, but why had no notice been taken of them? Was it the fault of the Government or of the people ,who were so apathetic that they did not care what became of the remits? He did not blame the Government, for if the peope were apathetic no Government would legislate very far ahead. It was necessary to have public opinion behind the remits to see that they occupied the attention of the Government.

The Mayor’ read an apology from the Rev. Clyde Carr, M.P., who was absent in Wellington, and said that the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) had expressed regret that he could not be present. Mr Vinnell said he hoped that the delegates would enjoy their stay in Timaru and that the conference would be an unqualified success. The Hon. W. E. Parry expressed to delegates the best wishes of the Prime J .mister, who had asked him to extend his good will to the Association. “My visit to Timaru,” said Mr Parry, “is

long overdue, but that is not my fault.” It was due to the pressure of work.

Mr Jordan expressed regret on behalf of the Association that Mr Satterthwaite had not lived to see the gathering in Timaru. The Association appreciated his 25 years of voluntary sendee to the community, and he could add personal appreciation of his generosity. Mr Satterthwaite last year had the right to be president of the Association, but he voluntarilystood down in his favour. “I was brought up in a hard school—l spent three years in Timaru in the office of the borough solicitor,” said Mr Jordan, who recalled that 30 years ago he represented South Canterbury at cricket. The generous welcome would be no surprise to those who had been in Timaru before. Many changes had taken place in the town, and it was a great pleasure to see the progress that had been made. He complimented the people on what had been accomplished and said he was sure that with such a fine rural district Timaru was destined to become a city before long. Made a Good Start In adding his welcome to the Minister Mr Jordan said that the Association was indebted to the Government for taking some notice of the conference decisions which had been forw’ardpd from year to year. He had been a member of the Association for 12 years, and it was the first time for four years that the Government had forwarded a detailed reply to the conference representatives. “I will not say that we are satisfied with the stage we have reached, but we have made a good start, and with the assistance of the Department we hope to see the fulfilment of the job,” said Mr Jordan. Minister’s Address The Minister expressed his pleasure at being present at the conference and said that the fact that he was there could be taken as an indication of the importance which the Government attached to a municipal conference as the official voice of the municipalities of New Zealand in matters of common interest. To illustrate the Government's recognition of the importance of this gathering, he said that at the request of the executive, Ministers had this year reviewed and given decisions on all the remits passed at the last four conferences. They found that a drift had been taking place in consideration of remits which, was not fair either to local bodies or Government. Those decisions had been conveyed to the Association, so to that extent they knew where they stood.

The system of local government in New eZaland lent itself to co-operation, but the typical British solution of this problem of local government was that which they had in New Zealand, namely, the granting of specific powers by the central legislature with considerable freedom in the carrying out of the functions which those powers involved. The year that had just passed had been a momentous one, and he thought the Government could claim to have achieved a fair measure of success.

After dealing with housing and townplanning (reported elsewhere), the Minister we..t on to refer to loan finance. W.xile there were many advantages in living entirely within one’s income, it was recognised that many major undertakings would never be commenced if it w?re not possible to finance the cost out of loan moneys. Even with this avenue available it was sometimes difficult to proceed with major undertakings. He tried to understand the psychology behind the adverse vote which the ratepayers of Wellington gave, a fortnight ago, to the loan proposals there. Of the five out of six proposals which were rejected, one was for the extension of the cemetery. It was necessary, however, to watch that borrowing was of an economic nature and that arrangements were made to repay the borrowed money within a reasonable period, having regard to the continuing utility oi the assets created out of the loan money.

“In this connection it is interesting to note that the total debt in 1916 was £26,045,312 and at March 31, 1926, had risen to £59,419,754 ” said the Minister. “In the ensuing years following the institution of the Lccal Government Loans Board, borrowing operations slowed down considerably. There was, however, still a gradual increase in the amount of the debt until it reached its m'aximum in 1931 of £72,686,036. Since that date there has been a gradual decline each year until March 31, 1935, the total stood at £71,245.458. I have not the figures for 1936 with me, but it is probable that a further slight decrease in the total debt will be indicated, as there was no material increase in the amount of new loans sanctioned by the Loans Board for that year.” Debt Conversion Mr Parry went on to say that the debt conversion operations of local authorities, which had only recently been completed, had also had a very beneficial effect on local body finance. Of a total convertible debt as at March 31, 1933, of £48,456,645, £43,540,169 had been dealt with at December 31, 1935. The re-organisation of this portion of the debt had resulted in considerably reduced charges, while at the same time the loans had been placed on a more satisfactory basis There was one aspect of this subject which was worthy of special comment, and that was the question of the rate of interest On 'ocal body loans. The present rate being authorised was 3J per cent and it was the policy of the Government to maintain interest rates on the present basis. Centennial in 1940 The Minister dealt with reorganisation of local government, and passed on to speak of the Centennial of New Zealand in 1940. "The Centennial will also give us an opportunity we have not yet had of creating a national spirit and guiding note in that direction of national aggrandisement for the benefit of mankind,” said Mr Parry. “In social and economic progress New Zealand has been accredited by the outside world with giving it a lead. Who knows but that in oui second hundred years, if we see the opportunity our Centennial will afford us of directing our grown up mind and soul to that end, we may prove our cultural worth to that better worth. With the fine spirit our pioneers bequeathed to us we should look to 1940 not only as an end of a chapter but as the beginning of a new one.” The Government itself would bear the cost of a National Memorial and of historical surveys of the first hundred years of our national life. In addition, it would expend a considerable sum between now and 1940 in advertising the Dominion’s scenic attractions abroad, and providing special tourist attractions for overseas visitors, so arranged as to co-ordinate them with the general scheme of the Centennial celebrations.

The Minister briefly touched on the proposed celebrations on Coronation Day, stating that the Government hoped that city and borough councils and local authorities generally would fittingly mark the occasion. Already the necessary legislation to authorise expenditure had been promised. Tree Planting The Minister said that on April 2 a national conference would be held in Parliament Buildings, Wellington, under the chairmanship of the Governor-General, to consider methods of furthering on a national scale, tree-

planting and conservation of our native bush. “Our native bush is a heritage that in the past we have sadly wasted,” said Mr Parry. “Here we have a land favourer by climate and fertility as few lands have been favoured, a land of glorious beauty. What we have done to that land in certain directions in the process of making our home in It beggars description. In the name of settlement we have denuded hillside and valleyin some cases devastated the countryside—replacing beauty by ugliness, virgin forest by rank weed growth. Mountain sides, deprived of their forest clothing are scarred by wounds of great landslides. The time has come for us seriously to attempt not only to remedy these mistakes of the past, but also to conserve what is still left to us. I am full of admiration for the manner in which a large number of our city and borough councils have undertaken the task cf replanting and beautification generally. The trouble at present is that the movement is not Dominion-wide.” National Health Insurance “In glancing through the remits of previous municipal conferences I notice that on a former occasion the conference affirmed the principle of a National Health Insurance Scheme,” said Mr Parry. “This is one of the matters that the Government is going to face up to. Here again it will be noticed we are endeavouring to give effect to the wishes of such an important body as the Municipal Association. We are now engaged on working out the definite proposals and we are locking forward to being able to make a decided step forward in this vitally necessary project. The necessary legislation to inaugurate the scheme will be introduced next session. I am sure we will have the help and cooperation of the Municipal Association in carrying out this far-reaching and important policy.” Thanks of Conference The thanks of the conference were extended to the Minister for his address by the Rev. E. T. Cox (Mayor of Dunedin), who said that Mr Parry’ had reached an equally high level of statesmanship as last year. In Mr Parry they had a Minister who took a live interest in the work of local bodies and the Municipal Association. Mr Parry’s career in public life had been long and honourable, and he brought the result of research and experience to assist him in the adminis.’.’ation of his office. Mr Parry was a man of high ideals. He had set himself the task of amalgamating local bodies and was looking for the body which would voluntarily “commit hari kari.” He had not yet found that body. Mr Cox reviewed several of the points raised by the Minister. He was sure that local bodies would be glad to co-operate In the coronation arrangements. Normally a coronation occurred once in r generation, and he hoped that it would occur only once more in the present generation. Thanks were extended by Mr Cox to the Mayor of Timaru for the cordial welcome to delegates.

Delegates were later entertained at supper.