GREATER AUCKLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 137, 13 June 1927, Page 6

GREATER AUCKLAND.

At Tamaki on Tuesday night Mr. Holdsworth is reported to have made the statement that Mr. Potter and Mr. Donaldson counselled the ratepayers of that district not to join tlia city. This is incorrect, as both Mr. Potter and myself very carefully refrained from" offering any advice on the subject. W« attended a meeting at the expressed wish cf a number of interested residents, who wer» desirous of obtaining all information possible on the question of amalgamation. There are two sides, at least, to very question, anfl the people of Tamaki are surelyentitled to all the information they can obtain on 4 matter of such vital importance to their district. Mr. Holdsworth amplified his remark! by introducing the much-discussed question of administrative costs. This is undoubted!* the main plank in the argument put forward by those advocating the constitution of Greater Auckland as a single administrative unit; but upon investigation it is found to be fallacious. Take the case of Grey Lynn as an example. According to Mr. Holdsworth, the greater proportion of Grey Lynn's cost of administration became, upon amalgamation, available for expenditure in other directions. On looking into the question, however, we find that the city took over the whole of the Grev Lynn administrative staff. Moreover, the" lini'fUj body did not receive the amount formerly paid to the Grey Lynn Council by way of subsidy on rates. After making due allowance ior salaries and the loss of subsidy, the amount available, if any, for expenditure in other directions would be very small indeed. Tl» only effect of amalgamation so tar as administration was concerned was the centralisation of control in Queen Street- The position of Grey Lynn is more or less typical of the other local bodies that have amalgamated with tfcs city, and it is clear that there is very little merit in this argument. In speaking of*unified administration, Mr. Holdsworth referred to the success of the operations of the Drainage Board and the Auckland Power Board. There is no analogy between the constitution of tjiese boards and Greater Auckland, as suggested by Mr. Holdsworth. Both the Power Board and the Drainage Board came into existence as the result of a decision on tha part of a group of local bodies to combine for the purpose of administering a service common to all, and local autonomy was not affected by the constitution of these boards. I venture 16 suggest that the existence of these boards as well as others, is a direct negation of tit principle of unification advanced by Mb Holdsworth. S. DONALDSON, Mayor of Newmarket. •