A ROYAL COMMISSION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 65, 18 April 1944, Page 5

A ROYAL COMMISSION

LOCAL ELECTIONS AND POLLS BILL HARBOUR BOARD'S REACTION Notification from the Minister of Internal Affairs that the full text of the Local Elections and Polls Bill should be brought to the notice of the Whakatane Harbour Board sent members into strong terms of criticism at the Board's meeting last Friday. The clerk explained that under the new Act the elections had been postponed for one week and the rolls closed on the 19. It was not compulsory for the residents in the county to enroll as was the case in Boroughs. A further provision was that ratepayers who Avere in arrears still held the power of voting providing they were not absentees. Board members wiere emphatic in their remarks that the new Act cast an undeserved slur upon the personnel of local bodies, and that the Board had no faith in thei finding of the Parliamentary Committee which had been, set up, on account of its obvious bias politically. It was decided that the Board should lodge a strong protest to the Acting Prime Minister and to that effect the following motion was moved by the chairman (Mr W. R. Boon) and seconded by Mr Smith:— "That the Hon. the Acting Prime Minister and the Hon. the Minister of Internal Affairs be respectfully advised that this Board views with alarm the Government's policy which makes for the enactment of legislation which vitally affects pub--1 lie organisations without firstly consulting such organisations—that the Government in so placing on the Statute Book the Local Elections and Polls Amendment Act 194.4 has cast an undeserved reflection on all members of local authorities who give gratuitous service, in their respective districts and who are capable and willing to state the wants and needs of their districts and the residents of such districts—that the Government's proposal to have a Parliamentary Committee report on matters affeoing local body administration in all phases is wrong in principle in that the investigation of such an important matter, to have the confidence of the , country should he entrusted to a Royal Commission—that this Board requests that sucltl a commission be appointed—that a copy of this resolution be submitted to the Harbours' Association for its support." A copy of the above will be. forwarded to the Harbour Boards Association for its support.