SECRECY CONDEMNED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16818, 22 August 1922, Page 9

SECRECY CONDEMNED.

THE CITY ESTIMATES. PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW THE POSITION. At a special meeting of the City » ounoii last evening, a, brisk discus* Mon took place on the question of dealing with the estimates in committee. hen the D&p'aty-Mnym (Councillor d. A. Fleshqr) put the usuM motion iliat the eouncdl should go into committee to consider the estimates, Councillor R D. Martin paid that ho objected. because ho considered that the ratepayers and. the citizens generally were entitled to know why certain ro~ commendations were made, and why the Finance Committee had practically ignored decisions of the council. Ho entered his protest against the action ot the Finance Committee in ignoring the wish of the council and the resolution of the council, by omitting to rdc-co on the estimates the sum of .£IOOO for tlie Sir Arthur Pearson Memorial Fund for the RlincT. Councillor W. H. Winsor: T rise to n point of order. Councillor Martin is making a speech on the estimates. Comicillor Martin : T am giving my reasons why we should not gjo into committee. Tlie omission will mean a serious loss to the fund because there will be no Government subsidy. Tin; council has no right to ask the Blind Fund to wait another year for this money. The T>oputy-Mayor : Von must coniine your remarks to the motion that the council shall go into committee. Councillor Martin wont on to say that the council had voted the mnnev to the Blind Fund. The Deputy-Mayor : Von arc quite wrong. j Councillor Winsor: T rise to a. point of order. This ri purely estimates bus- j moss. Councillor Martin can talk all , he likes when we arc considering the estimates, The Deputy-Mayor.again asked Councillor Martin to confine his remarks to the motion. Councillor Sullivan rose to a point of order, and said that, according to Parliamentary procedure, the general principle could be discussed before the estimates were considered in detail. Councillor Martin (heatedly): They are burking tlie question. They areashamed of what they have done. The Deputy-Mayor: You must withdraw. That is a most improper remark. Councillor Martin: I say the council ' is burking the question. The Deputy-Mayor: That is an improper remark. The matter you refer to comes up in tlie report of the Finance Committee, and tlie council will have the opportunity of considering it. Councillor Martin began to continue his protest against the Finance Committee’s action. The Deputy-Mayor called him to older, saying he had made his speech. Councillor Martin : I have not finished my speech. The Deputy-Mayor : You sat down. Councillor Martin : I sat down because a point of order had been raised. Councillor H. F. Herbert: I rise to a point of order. I object to the remark of Councillor Martin that the council is burking discussion. Councillor Martin: 1 withdraw that remark. Another reason for my i>rotest is that the Finance Committee has departed from the council’s decision with reference to the vote to the Canterbury Progress League. The Finance Committee has no right to cut it down from £‘46o. as agreed, to £3OO. Th*. whole of the estimates should lie discussed in public. These are all matters of the utmost importance to the ratepayers. Councillors have a right to express publicly their views on the motion to increase the rates by id in tlie pound, and the public bare a right to know those views If a long-term loan had been arranged to pay off th*antecedent liability the general rat? would have been lower. There is nothing in the estimates that does not concern the public. Councillor F. R. Cooke said ho was against going into committee. Tie submitted that the ratepayers should be made familiar with all items of expenditure :' nd that there was no good reaso • for secrecy. There was nothing in tl.t estimates, discussion of which in public would involve the city in loss. : There was nothing to hide. Councillor J. K. Archer asked if the council did not go into open meeting again after the estimates had been considered in committee. The Deputy-Mayor: That is correct.. Councillor K. It. M.’Combs said she wished to protest against going into * numittoe, because she desired that the public should know the position of women employees of the council as compared with male employees. Councillor Sullivan said they were entering upon a new phase; of municipal life in consequence of legislation passed last session limiting liability. Ho therefore suggested to the finance an/1 Works Committees that money which came within the scope of capital expenditure should not be taken out of revenue. Items such as the j vot - for the Caishel Street Bridge should be provided for by way of loans. Ho would also suggest that the Works Committee should go into the question of raising a loan to make permanent roads, as suggested by the late Mr T. E. Taylor. Councillor H. T. Armstrong said lie did not agree entirely with all the views expressed by Councillor Martin, but. be would vote with him, because it was only right that the citizens should know how their money was spent and wliv it was spent. The Deputy-Mayor said that there ! w as a good deal in Councillor Sullivan’s remarks on capital expenditure. If Parliament had passed legislation adopting a recommendation of the last Municipal Conference it would have been possible to raise money for necessary works by means of a special order, after due advertisement and providing no petition was presented by js«y, if) per cent of the ratepayers asking for poll on the proposal. The Christchurch Tramway Board had power to raise no more than a certain amount per year by special order and. if local authorities had been given the same power, it would have saved a lot of imnece.s.sarv in the shape of costly polls. In the past fifteen years, the council had spent about .£20,000 out of the general rate for items the con of which should have been spread over ' * period. Machinery of the kind necessary to meet such cases was in ; operation in Victoria. ''Touncillor Sullivan: Sufficient effort j *4 trefe made to put the recommendations of the Municipal Conference be- ! ft) re Parliament. The Deputy-Mayor: Tt is n shame ! fchnt people who are working under the bocal Government. Act year after year j :-.innot have their experience appro- ! cist tod. The motion that the council should j go into committee was carried oy j 11 votes to 7, the division list being:— j Ayes: Williams, M’Kollar, Manhire, Andrews. Brunt. Hervoy. Winsor. Herbert, Wri iht, Archer wild Fleshcr. No. H im. Grant. Martin, M ‘Combs, I •Staufc* AituoLroiig and Sullivan