A CONVINCING VERDICT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26623, 20 November 1947, Page 6

A CONVINCING VERDICT

The returns of the polling for the Otago Harbour Board and the Otago Hospital Board give emphasis to the manner in which the electors of the metropolitan area have spurned the attempt to carry party politics into local body affairs. Citizens’ Association candidates won all five'seats on the Harbour Board, and on the Hospital Board only one Labour member, the retiring chairman, succeeded in retaining his seat. In view of the extravagant propaganda that was lavished on Hospital Board electors by the Labour Party this unequivocal rejection of its policy must be regarded as a significant guide to public opinion on recent trends in the conduct Hospital Board affairs. The 'possibility of Government appointments being made to the Hospital Board in the near future was, perhaps, responsible for some of the support accorded non-Labour candidates, but there appears to be no doubt that the majority of electors went to the poll with the object of voting ihto control a board that would approach its problems with the human and compassionate outlook that should be inalienable from the conduct of hospital affairs. The Harbour Board poll has shown clearly that electors are seeking a progressive and business-like direction of the affairs of the port. The retiring board admittedly had many difficulties with which to contend, difficulties that were common to port authorities the world over. The opinion of the electorate, however, is unmistakably an indication of its desire to have the plans for the development and progress of the port translated into efficient and smooth-working action. These results confirm the belief expressed in elections throughout the country that State-originated planning, when it tends to interfere with the right of citizens to conduct their own affairs, becomes repugnant.