PARISH officials said yesterday that the States had not asked their views before voting to scrap La Gazette Officielle.
Guernsey Douzaine Council chairman Shane Langlois said the douzaines had not been consulted on the proposal. They had been asked only to provide their annual costs of publication. ‘I think the douzaines would have supported the States renegotiating the cost, but not necessarily abandoning Press publication,’ he said.
Guernsey Press director and general manager Mark Lewis said the wrong decision had been reached. ‘Naturally we’re very disappointed as a company by the decision which in our view has no basis in fact or on the information presented in the Billet,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, there was a lot of misinformation provided to the States. Nevertheless, we hope we will have the opportunity to further discuss this with the relevant authorities before the law is drafted to ensure communication to islanders is not compromised.’
Forest senior constable Pierre Paul thought the States had made a strange decision.
The douzaine had discussed it on Monday evening but had not reached a definitive view. ‘It cost us about £1,200 to publish in the Gazette last year which is not a great deal, so we moved on,’ he said.
Deputy Martin Ozanne had been looking at it purely from a cost point of view, he said.
‘Personally, I’m a stickler for notices and I’m quite surprised at the decision,’ said Mr Paul.
‘There needed to be a decision whereby people would know where notices are published and will be accessible and the Guernsey Press seems to be the best medium.
‘I don’t think putting notices in parish halls and the like will work as well. Maybe the two could have reached a compromise on cost.’
St Sampson’s senior constable Steve Park said his douzaine had also discussed it.
‘We were reassured by the three deputies present that parish notices would still be published in the Guernsey Press,’ he said.
Some of those present believed La Gazette Officielle was a tradition that should be maintained, while others thought the Guernsey Press had urged the States to cut costs and was now criticising it for doing so.
‘As long as we feel the parish message is getting through, it’s all right and it’s up to the States to make sure it gets its message over,’ said Mr Park.
He believed consultation should have continued. ‘It’s about keeping talking when you can. Who am I to tell the States not to save money?’
Article posted on 28th February, 2008 - 2.29pm
Loading ...
Most Commented: