THE OPOTIKI WRANGLE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 594, 27 July 1933, Page 4

THE OPOTIKI WRANGLE

The development of the impasse in the affairs of the Opotiki Borough Council 'is likely to involve that borough in serious difficulties unless some steps are taken to clean up the mess which has been created^ The represeritatives of the Opotiki Chamber of Commerce spoke sound commonsense when they pointed out that the unenviable publicity which has been created as a result of the bickerings of " the council must unquestionably have very serious reactions upon the whole borough. Even a council which is so set upon economy as the Opotiki city fathers must have" recourse sooner or later to outside loan capital and a back fence quarrel of the nature which has developed since the new council took office, will not inspire confidence among investors. A community cannot live to itself alone and quite apart from any reductions which may or may not be affected in the rates, a definite check is given to the influx of outside business and investment by an unseemly wrangle such as that which is proceeding at present. Persons from outside centres who may contemplate settling in a borough or entering into business in it will hardly consider an atmosphere of civic wrangling very propitions to their undertakings while the non-resident who is able to regard the situation in an unbiassed light will very naturally view a disturbed condition in mnnicipal affairs with a doubtful and oritical eye. In its incipient stages, the wrangle presented some amusing features but it has now become merely tiresome. Recent meetings have developed into exchanges which are more reminiscent of the playground than the council chamber and it is time that the councillors concerned, realised that an indefinite ■' continuation of this state of affairs must inevitably react very linpleasantly upon the whole borough. A very reasonable suggestion that the whole matter should be thrashed out at a round table discussion was made by the Chamber of Commerce and uncontinently rejected by the antimayor faction in the council, apparently only after two of its members had returned from Auckland arnied with fresh legal ammunition to prolong the confliot. Mere vociferonsness is not necessarily a mark of sincere public spirit and some at least of the Opotiki councillors might be reminded that the greatest service they could perform for the people "they represent, would be to settle the dispute before definite harm is done to their borough and district. At the present time there is a grave danger of the priginal issues being entirely loSt in an unseemly and tedioqs lOUG Ctmm .1 c so[ua"btole. Tlxeire is a midcile and conunonsens'e course ' iii every"thing- and extremes in economy or afiything' else are to *be deprGcated as1 an example' of iUbalanceJ judgment. l'c