Mr. Seivewright Makes His Proposals To City Electors

Wanganui Chronicle, 2 November 1950, Page 4

Mr. Seivewright Makes His Proposals To City Electors

Citizens’ Association candidate for the Wanganui mayoralty, Mr A. C. Seivewright, opened his campaign in the Opera House last night and outlined his two principal planks—reorganisation of the City Gas Department to prevent further losses and a scheme for improving streets and footpaths with modern plant. He advocated the Gas Department being absorbed in the VVanganui-Kangi-tikei Electric Power Board undertaking, and said that any idea which would mean saving the money of ratepayers was worth the closest scrutiny. Mr Seivewright also advocated planning in municipal affairs and the City Council taking the fullest advantage of the Government’s offer of a subsidy of 25 per cent on the cost of 1 building flats and cottages for pen-, sioners. Many other points were touched on by Mr Seivewright during the course of his address and he concluded by saying that if elected Mayor he would do everything within his power toward restoring Wanganui to its rightful place among other cities in the Dominion. Mr Seivewright was given an uninterrupted hearing by an audience which filled nearly two-thirds of the Opera House. His remarks were frequently applauded and at the conclusion of the address Mr R. I. Sewell moved a vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Seivewright and the Citizens’ Association candidates. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr C. S. Smith, who presided, said that in a democratic country such as New Zealand everybody had the privilege of standing for a local body, and all who offered their services irrespective of party or organisation, should be thanked. “And we should be particularly thankful to have a man of Mr Seivewright’s calibre offering himself for such an important office as the mayoralty,” Mr Smith added. Mr Seivewright came to Wanganui 18 years ago and through sheer ability had played his part in many organisations, building some himself and strengthening others. There was hardly an organisation in the city ■ with which he was not actively associated.

Other speakers, all of whom are sitting members on the bodies for which they are again standing, were Mrs A. H. Mac Lean (Hospital Board) and Messrs E. A. Millward (Harbour Board), R. E. Jack (City Council) and H. C. Jenkins (Power Board). Before speaking, Mr Seivewright introduced each of the Citizens’ Association candidates. LONG ASSOCIATION “I have been connected with this organisation now for many years and have seen many of the association’s candidates elected to office on all the local municipal undertakings,” said Mr. Seivewright at the outset. “Three years ago I was also the official candidate of the Citizens’ Association for the Mayoralty and I was defeated. At that election I reluctantly accepted nomination only because of the difficulty of procuring a candidate. Many well-known men of Wanganui were invited but due to many reasons they could not see their way clear to accept nomination. I only accepted rumination at that time to make up a team. Lt was a late nomination and at that stage in Wanganui’s history I was not very well known. “I hung my platform at that time on three major pegs:—Transport to be controlled by private enterprise; re-organisation of the city Gas Department to prevent further losses, and better roads and footpaths. “The people of Wanganui supported me in my appeal that the new transport system of Wanganui should be undertaken by private enterprise, thereby avoiding any further loan indebtedness and the elimination of any further losses directly to the citizens on running expenses of the system. When I missed the Mayoralty I accepted it cheerfully. When one goes in for public life and more especially tackles the Mayoralty of a city the size of Wanganui, one has to attack the proposition optimistically. It is one thing to have unbounded optimism within oneself, but very seldom can one expect that the 18000 electors of Wanganui possess the same optimism. The last election proved that they did not. “However having supported me enthusiastically by a two-to-one majority that they wanted private enterprise for a new transport system, and after the City Council had offered the pro-

position around New Zealand, I considered that the least I could do was to offer my services to the City Council and see if I could not carry out the project to a successful conclusion that I had advocated from the public platform.

NEW BUS SYSTEM

“This, I think, I have done and today Wanganui has one of the finest and most modern transport systems of any provincial city in New Zealand. It has been enthusiastically received by the citizens and plans are under way all the time to try and improve it. This project took two and a halt years to organise. All sorts of dUlicutties arose, but with the help of some of the finest business brains in Wanganui we managed to overcome obstacle after obstacle. The tramway syf.tem, completely worn out, still had at March 31 £54,966 of loan money to repay. This money will be repaid from now until 1957, but instead of the citizens dipping further into their pockets to cover any more transport losses on running costs, Greyhound Buses Ltd., have relieved them of all these unnecessary charges.

“Last year it cost the city £4OOB loss in working expenses alone, and it has cost the citizens of Wanganui over £lO,OOO in working losses lor the last three years, and in loan charges for the last three years it has cost £34,225. Thes? figures are terrific when one comes to think that we have managed to float the new company for roughly £50.000, giving the people a much better sc,'vice, a speedy and comfortable ride to wherever they want to go. Greyhound Buses, Ltd., is unique in New Zealand’s history and I aim proud to have had associated with me such a fine lot of men to organise it and 1 am proud that Wanganui has given New Zealand the lead.

“However, my No. 1 peg of last election is now a thing of the past and we must pass on to some of the other projects that still are awaiting re-or-ganisation, so I will now deal wtih the city Gas Department,” said Mr. Seivewright.

CITY GAS DEPARTMENT

‘‘Altogether, more than £215,000 has been borrowed for the Gas Department. Over £116,000 has been paid off and at March 31. 1950 there was still £70,613 owing. I warned the ratepayers at the last campaign that the Gas Department would be an increasing headache to the City Council and all the citizens of Wanganui. At last election date for the previous six years, the total losses for the Gas Department, amounted to £34,000 and 1 prophesised from the platform that more losses would be made in the years that lay ahead. I was dead right., for since 1946 to 1950 further losses have taken place. “This year Government subsidies were withdrawn and in order to meet the position the City Council raised the price of gas to consumers to an all time ‘high.’ Every housewife who receives her monthly gas bill is staggered with what she has to pay compared with past months. A family using 3100 c.f. p.m. used to pay £1 Ils Od, now they pay £1 18s 9d. Domestic gas hot water systems used to cost 9/9d per 1000 c. feet, now they cost 13/4d Gas which used to be looked upon as the poor man's heating and cooking is now the most expensive commodity any household can buy. “If it were possible for the Wanga-nui-Rangitikei Power Board to supply unlimited electricity and heating ana cooking apparatus there would be a wholesale scrapping of gas installations. The new Government homes are completely electric and the Hon. Mr. W. S. Goosman recently said that the Government would never think of installing gas in Government homes as it cost twice as much as electricity," said Mr. Seivewright. | "The question is, why has gas risen . so much in price? It is quite easy to I see—coal, freight, administration costs I have all soared and the Government ; has taken off the subsidy. I am not i here tonight to discuss the wisdom or otherwise of subsidies all I can do is to face up to the fact that there is ' no more Government subsidy for Wan. | ganui, as far as gas is concerned. The City Council have no jurisdiction over | the price of coal, freight, or adminisl tration costs, they are all fixed by , many other authorities. If, what 1 say is correct, then the only thing that ' can be done is to approach the proo- | lem from a new angle. I “The City Council is always comI plaining that it has no money to do this, or to do whatever urgent work | that is required for the city. I would like to point out to citizens that it is not money that is required, it is ideas. When we started to form the new transport company we had no money, all we had was an idea and it was from the idea that all the necessary capital came about. Can’t we apply | the same principle to the city Gas De- | partment? Some six years ago a select I committee set up by Labour Government to enquire into local body administration stated that in cities like Wan. ganui, where heavy losses were being made by municipal gas undertakings, it would be wise to amalgamate with the local electric power boards, trie argument being that the competition from electricity was a factor in creating losses from gas. “Three years ago,” declared Mr. Seivewright, "I suggested that the advisability of amalgamating the city Gas Department with the WanganuiRangitikiei Power Board should be investigated. So far as I know, not a thing has been done in this direction. I therefore bring this proposition up again. Why not endeavour to amalgamate the two bodies? The WanganuiRangitikei Power Board is a successful, efficiently run organisation, its electricity is bought from the hydroelectric undertakings at a very reasonable price. Seventy-five per cent of all the units supplied by the Board are purchased by the citizens of Wanganui, the balance by the country districts near to Wanganui. Seventy-five per cent, of the profits that have been made by the Power Board have been created by the citizens of Wanganui. The Power Board is a public body exactly the same as the city Gas Department. The board has been a serious competitor of the Gas Department and will be a greater competitor as the years roll on.

‘‘Amalgamate the two and I am sure that economies can be effected witli a portion of the profits made by the Power Board being devoted to assist the losses made by the Gas Department, and under one management I can see some daylight. That this scheme is feasible is proved by the fact that Palmerston North have amalgaamated their two departments and I have a copy of the Empowering Bill passed by the present Government of New Zealand giving them the right right to do so. This was one of the first local body bills presented at this session. Admittedly, the setup in Palmerston North is not quite the same as in Wanganui, but the philosophy of the idea is identical. “What on earth is the use of our digging a hole on one side for gas losses, and on the other hand a mountain of assets made from the sale or electricity when we practically own both departments. Anyway, I consider that any idea at all that will save the ratepayers’ money is worth the closest scrutiny and if I am elected Mayo? this is one of the first things I will tackle and I believe I will have a vast body of public opinion behind me in favour of the idea," Mr. Seivewright declared. PLAN FOR WANGANUI Tile speaker said that the lack of planning evident in municipal affairs in Wanganui had always amazed him. Every organisation however, should have a plan for development. “We, here in Wanganui, are enjoying an economic prosperity that exists in the Dominion at the moment but we have no guarantee that this prosperity will last forever. Looking bacx over tile years, back to the days o> Ihe depression when we had unemployment and all the bad things that go with a depression we were running round in circles wondering what, to do to create useful work for those that needed it. If I am elected Mayor I will organise a blue- print for Wanganui’s future development. I will make it a 5 or 10 year plan, and then if something happens and we have to create work for a section of our community all we have to do is to look at our plan and see what we are budgeted for. That, I think, is sound business and good administration, said Mr. Seivewright. "Once Wanganui was the proud fifth city of New Zealand. Today it is ninth. If elected Mayor I will do everything within my | iwer to restore this city to its rightiul place among the other cities of the Dominion and I will leave no stone unturned to carry out what 1 say I will do,” Mr. Seivewright concluded.