The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1933. LOCAL BODY REFORM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 19, 24 January 1933, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1933. LOCAL BODY REFORM.

for the cause that tack* assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

For reasons that are entirely unconvincing, the proposed inquiry into local government may be shelved indefinitely. If the Government had acted with decision this work would have been commenced by now, and it is futile to say that one cause of. delay is the transfer of the portfolio of Internal Affairs. All that was necessary was to appoint a Commission, a task which would present no special difficulties, but nothing has been done. Meanwhile, the problems which should be tackled become more urgent, and the weight of |he burden upon the shoulders of ratepayers more unbearable. Auckland local bodies, cramped in their action by loan indebtedness, have been living in the past year from hand-to-mouth, and the position here throws light on the whole national field. Although the yield from rates has been more buoyant in some directions than was anticipated, the payments have eaten up a larger share of the incomes of the people, and these sacrifices deserve support by reform of the system.

There are two aspects to this problem of reform. One is to reorganise the internal working of the system as it exists, with a view to economy, and the other is to co-ordinate the work of all bodies and remove overlapping. Internal changes can be brought about by the authorities themselves, if they have sufficient knowledge and determination to make the effort, and much has been done already, but the smaller bodies lack the guidance which they need, and the larger ones move slowly. All find that fixed chatges are an increasing drag on their budgets and affect municipal finance like a form of creeping paralysis. Difficult as it is to deal with the internal position, the problem which presents the greatest obstacle is of a' regional and national character. For many years it has been apparent that the number of authorities should be reduced and that the areas as planned originally are unsatisfactory, but the Government wavers in uncertainty about what course to take, when there is need of boldness, and still hesitates to decide upon measures which will initiate a policy of sweeping reform. The local bodies themselves would benefit by agreeing upon a revision of areas, but there is no way by which this can be achieved, except through a Commission, and it is here that the Government should come to aid.