WASTE CONDEMNED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 646, 24 April 1929, Page 11

WASTE CONDEMNED

MR. MURRAY AT PARNELL COUNCIL CRITICISED Condemnation of the “wasteful j methods of the City Council" was made at a meeting held at Parnell last evening by Mr. W. H. Murray, candidate for the Mayoralty. ME MURRAY’S chairman, Mr. J. I R. Bundo'n, in a vigorous speech at the end of the candidate’s address, described as “two wretched concerns" the Transport Board and the City Council. Mr. H. P. Taylor,, council candidate, also spoke, and a vote of confidence in Mr. Murray was carried unanimously. “If something is not done to put a spoke in the wheel of the way the finances of the City Council are going, we will he confronted by a huge problem,” Mr. Murray said. “It is amusing, and misleading, to see how the council members are now falling over each other in saying what the council should have done. They now say that tenders should be publicly called for — that was my 'c x. tention.” Mr. Murray dealt with aspects of the metal supplies to the council. “The one-time Tramway Department took some metal cubes from the streets and crushed them into metal waste at Epsom,” Mr. Murray went on to say. “Then a contractor came along, bought this waste for 7s 3d a yard, and next day sold It to the engineering department of the council for 13s 3d a yard. Where Is the co-ordination in such a council. There is waste on every hand, and I defy any member of the council to refute facts and figures I can produce. “PREPOSTEROUS RECITALS” “These city organ recitals are financially preposterous and economically unsound. Considering all' the expenses, each recital costs £7O to £BO to stage. The lack of public support says that the people do not want these recitals. I have no quarrel with the organist, who is a capable man. The city band is badly run, too, and in the past four years, the debit balances represent over £11,000." Mr. Murray denied that the city’s finances could be considered good. lie said that Mr. J. A. C.i Allum had said that the city’s finances were satisfactory, but Mr. W. E.\Bush, the engineer, had informed the council on one occasion, at least, that work could not be gone on with through lack of money. Auckland’s public indebtedness, £7,500,000, was startling and a few years ago would practically have been a national debt. That there were more than 5,000 yards of metal in the Grey Lynn quarry was contended by the candidate. He said that it was represented that only that amount of metal was left, but he produced photographs in support of his denial. Interference with private enterprise was another subject mentioned by the speaker. He said it was not possible for any council to compete with a man ip a line on which he had concentrated. Mr. Murray said that, while he advocated .Greater Auckland, there should be more searching investigations into the finances of any minor local body absorbed. He pointed to Tamaki and Avondale and said that the council found out the requirements of these areas only after amalgamation. Avondale had 90 miles of streets needing repair and the residents there had a perfect right to ask the council to work on them. “I don’t know whether Avondale or. we were taken in,” he said. “There has been a 100 per cent, increase in many rates there, and, after the amalgamation, the allocation for street maintenance throughout Auckland was decreased.”