LABOUR AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21411, 1 March 1935, Page 10

LABOUR AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS

•/, Hit U'U Of THE ritESS. bn.— Tu-zurduvi the correspondence rubrnitted by ' dealing administration of the City Cou::cil. il would be advisable for him 1o son~e data before attempting tr , quc.-tion the administration of the J.aLour parly. Seeing that he is so f,t:.td on the rate question a little i-.v nnatio.'i for his jaded nerves may ; i- tw.ic to hirn. 1 will so back fiCfjodK of 1029-30. The rate for the City Council adminis-t-a: -n was £143.220: this year it is !o £ll3.iua. bein" a reduction t.l or nearly 25 per cent. iv be will recognise this to be a wonderful performance; that being so. I fcus;e thai he will take up the cudgels for Labour in the forthcoming election < ai Probably he may be interested in the Tory element. How-evt-r, a little refresher of its governrrx-:.'. wi other kcal bodies, for which City Council collects rate:-, may lieip- P',.-.b!v he is not r-bie to separate* his rate paper from that of the City Council. In the period of 1920-30. the ratfor ether local bodies collected by the City Council was £B7 520. For 1933-3-5 the amoLini was £1>0'.933. and lor the current year £ 1201)00. This includes a debt of £19,000 left by the Citizens' Association,' lor which the Labour party now in oliice has had to strike a rate. This j>. ;< similar position to when tae Labour party t» ck office in the council. It v: ■ left a baby of £BO.OOO. Tha. dent is j;ow cleared out of the rates col-

• Yb" complain:; of the domination of the Labour RcprcsenU.tion Committee. This i:> an end n.-iuibtration of the City Council to a ireat extent is bound up m the Municipal Corporations Act. To suggest aominution is absurd. If "A.8." knows of any corrupt pract:ccs ho should make it. known He inentiojis that the chairman of. the I abour Representation Committee is an i-inployoe of the council. I ruopose ih[n uers<'n was an employee uuims Citizens' Association .regime Would he expect him to resign Jhat Di -"io'i because Labour took omce. Probably he thinks that the rates could be reduced if the council commenced a policy. We will leave iha* *o the Citizens' Association. Re J. , p-ber how they did things on the Trainwav Beard. Let nini obtain a vovy of the New Zealand Year Book "a ho vill find that ChriSt-rl'u'-ch'is the most cheaply rated city •• \c,v Zealand, notwithstanding that •t" has not embarked on any wagenot lcrst. think of the vice, which only Labour can *r" parks, water service. Ob-'l--ve these rates. Under the Citizens 'A -.-ciat'on a workmu man with a received 20.000 gallons free and ra u Is for 1000 gallons m excess of \-,-U amount. Labour increased the - :i \he (,::ccs:; to lOcl for 1000 goljo~ The Electricity Department v .". "ivi -f'6o 000 back to the raterl bv \v?v of reduced charges, ivr thr- f'h.n ; rrnanship of a lady, '•■r .-V-bs MP. Seeing that ''A.B." is man it would be wholesome ? " to go into the City Council. \vhere he will be courteously received a"d all information in reference t ra't-s will be supplied. He should then those nasty, untrue insinuations about the Mayor and his colleagues. YoJrT - etC ' OBSERVER. February 28, 1035.