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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 37, No 15. July 3 1974

Mayoral Forum: Candidates & Clowns

page 7

Mayoral Forum: Candidates & Clowns

A gaggle of geese posing as mayoral candidates cackled in the general direction of an unappreciative and often derisive audience at the forum held in the Union Hall on June 20.

Saul Goldsmith, a self-evident member of the National Party, received a standing ovation for his dramatic pledge to bring back the trams. Also Wellington should have a town hall like Christchurch's and the old Post Office square should become a 'greerspot' with a car park underneath it. Saul Goldsmith, if mayor would uphold the principles of justice and freedom and fight the "red tape" to the end.

Photo of Tony Brunt

Councillor Michael Fowler said that issues of policy and management received 'scant regard under the present leadership. He claimed that central Wellington was socially 'dead' because everybody lived in surrounding suburbs. His answer was to develop the central city to accommodate twice the number presently housed in the area.

Tony Brunt, the leader of the Values Party, spoke entirely on regional development. In the development of Wellington, he sees an urgent need for a preservation programme to save older Wellington from the bulldozer. The need for more projects of community regeneration, through environmental and political activism was stressed. Brunt claimed that because 600 earthquake risk buildings must come down within the next 30 years the problem of stopping the expansion of high rise buildings in Wellington is not beyond our control. Yet if constructions like the BNZ bank on Willis Street are allowed to continue Wellington's 'aesthetic environment' will be destroyed. Brunt also compared the government grants of Australia and New Zealand for the preservation of historical buildings. New Zealand's is a meagre $73,000 against Australia's $23 million.

Margaret Gellon then raved on about the tattoos on Saul's stomach, chastity boxes at VUW, a tax on crap, portraying the bee-hive as a [unclear: tit] motorways from Athletic Park and the unjustified sense of obscenity in belonging to the intelligentsia. She complained about the sub-standard housing of faculty wives, the shame she feels for her generation and in conclusion that Wellington was "one absolutely ghastly botch".

Margaret and Saul

Margaret and Saul

All Sir Francis Kilts had to say revolved around money. He justified WCC inadequacy in dealing with problems by the lack of government finance. "You can have all the ideas you like but you need finance first." His main point was the need for a government subsidy on the city transport service. Porirua and the Hutt have government subsidies and in other countries transport is considered as much a public service as water and electricity. Nothing Kitts said had any relevance to the coming elections. He was merely using the forum as a political platform to further his own ends with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Question time raised more important issues and baffled the panel of "experts". A member of TPA asked Sir Francis Kitts if he could deny that the Wellington City Council has only one inspector of substandard housing, that the inspector is ineffectual and that many landlords are allowed to illegally rent out sub-standard houses. In reply Sir Francis Kitts was unable to recall when the last prosecution of a land-lord had been and evaded the issue by suggesting that new housing developments is the answer to the problem.

The forum ended on the burning issue of the day — the Taj Mahal. Saul claimed that he was its first customer and had always fought to save it. Kitts said it seems to have secured its niche and will remain there. Brunt hoped that if he wasn't elected major, it would be turned into the Mayoral Office.

Thus ended the entire performance of Saul — the man for trams, Fowler—upholder of more sexual freedom to encourage population growth, Brunt — who doesn't believe in watering trees, Maggie — who wants free vibrators for faculty wives and finally Sir Francis Kitts who would willingly give them if he had the money.