Four Candidates Heard At Open Meeting

Chronicle (Levin), 20 April 1949, Page 4

Four Candidates Heard At Open Meeting

Featured below are the maini points from the addresses given at the opan mee.ing. Mr. E, Tomlinson. He was definite.y independent and beiieved in doing that which benefited the majority of the community. He was not one to be swayed by a "lot of talk " If there was something he thought was not right he would vote against it. As a family man he was eoncerned about the number of young persons leaving the town for employmsnt. Levin, Mr. Tomlinson said, must • have i secondary industries. There were two- methods which eouid be emp.oyed in the establishment of industry in Levin. Firstly, ihe factories could be left to find their own sites, with a small restriction on where they could be

placed, and- the other was by town planning. He for one was of the opinion that such buildings should make for ihe improvement of a town and be .of a standard of construction that wou/d beho'd a town as a clean one. The introduction of- factories would mean that (he workers would naturally stop here. Generally he would do his utmost to foster anything that would promole the town. He had spent three years in travelling round the world prior to the war, and had been in 18 different eountries and even worked in some of them. He had naturally seen a lot and among them were several things which would teneflt a town like Levin. He would like to pass these on and would most certainly put them before the council . The- sewerage and 'drainage problems were now under way and that was a very good thing. What the council had to do was to hasten the work not yet finished and look for other things that required doing. It- was necessary in municipal matters to balance the budget, a'dd•ed Mr.' 'Tomlinsonii; He- had had, experience in this in. his own business and. if he could do it for himself he could do it for the council. His wish for Levin was that it would. continue to progress and fas'er even than in the past few years. Mr. N. Thornley. It shoul'd be understood that he was not a party to any "ticket," but just an independent, said' Mr. Thornley. He had no fan'astic schemes of a vote catching nature to offer. As a business and family man he beiieved in sound finance as a basis to all matters, and a conriructive nolicy in keeping with rnodern trgnds. The boom in housing in Levin had resulted in a heallhy influx oi new residents into the district, which he beiieved was largely through the ability and vigor disp7ayed by the local builders. Levin, however, had been "missing out" in the establishment of suitable in-

dustries. It was being ^y-passed by firms branching out into the . country and it would continue to be by-passed until something was done about it. Not 20 miles from Levin there was a modern factory just completed. If other centres . could have new factories built so icou'd Levin. He knew of one large firm which was interested in bringing a good clean industry to Levin. It would employ from 40 to 70 men arijd women. If there was one like this there must be many more. He beiieved town planning was a necessity. Mr. Thornley deplored the fact" that so many young Levin children saw their first light of dav in Otaki, and stressed the necessity and urgency of a maternity hospital here. Congratulations were due to the Mayor and council1 ors €or the splendid job done in regard .to the sanatorium site. As a prospecave councillor and RS.A. member he was opposed to thex triangle being "used for the memorial hall or a bu.s park. He would advoeate another theatre licence and close supervision of the programmes, particularly children's mavinees. He would also advoeate the encouragement of private enterprise anid the extension of the business area, He beiieved in close co-opera-tion between Weraroa and Levin to mutual advantage. Levin was a town to be proud of, but it could be even tetter. If he was elected he would. do his best to serve the community as a whole. Mr. L. V. Trass. He was an advoeate of town planning, believing that if Levin took in industries it wouM alsol have to enlarge its borough; -said Mr. Trass. Considering the population ratio of Levin the borough was very small. There was a good block of land behind the power hoard iepot. which he thought the Levin Borough Council cquld acquire. It could easily be serviced by the railways by the introduction of a branch line through it. Levin had let industries slide by and it was

distressing to see the number of Levin youths seeking employxhent in other centres. He beiieved that licences for commercial buildingl were obtainable. j Mr. Trass advocated more and1 better maintained footpaths. The 1 council 'did not seem to be even mamtaining the ones that were down. There was hardly a footpath in Levin that was not broken and it was a wonder to him that there were not a number .of broken legs, particularly among the elderly residents. The weeds had been grubbed off a footpath in Weraroa that day for the first time in 15 months. There must, however, be machinery for the job and he would advoeate that this be seeured. He did not mind if concrete ones of "a certain width were not put down, as long as the people had footpaths. There was plenty of tar and he could see no point in holding up the work. He was pleased to see the^council's action in the matter of sewerage. As a licensed drainlayer that was something he knew about. If the scheme went through it must provide for those residents on the borough outskirts. There had been a lot of talk about "yes" men. He was not a "yes" man. "There are 10 men with ten votes and if I don't get- my say 111 soon squeal." He was the only resident candidate for Weraroa and would do his best for it, as well as the remainder of the borough. Weraroa had been neglected in the past and he would like to see a better service for that end of the town also. Mr. R. S. Antcliff. Like Mr. Thornley, he had.no [sensational disclosur-es to make nor wou'd he indulge jn loose criticism, said Mr. Antcliff. H.e also had no political bias. He described as Levin's pubfic enemies the level .crossings in the town. There had to his knowledge been five fatalities at the Queen Street crossing which, he said, was Ari appalling average. He would advoeate increased pressure on the department to bring about an improvement, but person-

■ ' IL . . - ■ — I afiy he would like to see the line deviated right out of the town. That was a matter which Levin should keep in mind. Meanwhile, the signs were not adequate and Ihe council was faced with depayt- , mental apathy. The council should not let the matter rest there, but gather together a powerful body of opinion and not accept defeat. In regard to water, the growth of the town had exceeded the supply and there was somedmes an impurity caused by slips at the headwaters. He had heard a suggestion which might obviate the trouble. He would like to see it tried * out and would support itu trial. t In regard to the triangle site, Mr. Antcliff said he could see no reason for the R.S.A. to change its memorial hall to that land. It already had a site which he thought it would be tll-advised to exchange. He did not agree that the triangle be turned into a bus or ca'r park, principally in view of its nearness to a level crossing. He also doubted if it would be used by motorists if it was a car park. " In any case he was against destroying garden space, and said that he could not seeT Palmerston North residents dispensing with their ^ . beautiful Square gardens for park-" ing space. Mr. Antcliff congratulated the council on going ahead with the sewerage scheme and he considered the handling of the Playford Park projecu was "masterly." He praised the council for its work in bringing the sanatorium here. He a'so supported secondary industries. He had a full knowledge of the responsibilities of a councillor \ and would, if elected, carry them ■ out to the best of his ability.