The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1933. COUNTY AMALGAMATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 194, 18 August 1933, Page 6

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

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1933. COUNTY AMALGAMATION.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance For the future in the distance, And the good that use van dn.

It is possible to endorse the principle involved in the new move for reform of local government in the North without approving completely of the present scheme. At to-day's conference of counties at Whangarei an opportunity is presented to nine counties in the northern peninsula to grapple with their own problems, and in addressing themselves to the task they have the advantage at the outset of almost complete isolation from the rest of New Zealand. They are a group apart, once forming what was known as the "roadless North," but now recognised as an area with great scope for development. The days are past when road communication was virtually impossible for several months of the year, and even a small' county was difficult to administer. By use of telephone and motor it should be a comparatively simple matter to control the affairs of larger counties, and should be much simpler, in fact, than was the early development. The proposals, as outlined, contemplate grouping the nine counties into three and retaining the identity of the boroughs, subject to some revision of boundaries, and providing for some grouping of special districts. It is not claimed that all this would lead to a reduction in cost. Indeed, it is stated definitely that the cost on the new basis would be no less than it is to-day, although it is to be assumed that there Would be a gain in working efficiency. One reason given for the failure to make a saving is that there would continue to be an overlapping of functions as between the State and the local authorities, and this it is impossible to remove except by the co-operation of the Government. There is a call, then, for co-ordination, which the Government cannot afford to ignore, and if this is the case in North Auckland, it is still more so in other parts where natural boundaries are lacking. Yet the Governmentis, content to sit by with folded arms while groups of local bodies here and there try to escape from their difficulties. It is time that this passive attitude ceased, and the longpromised investigation was put in hand. The inquiry once begun will take much time, and this adds to the need of making a beginning without delay. Meanwhile, anything that can be done along the lines of the present move in the North, or that at Wairoa, is to be encouraged, if only to break the ground and provide useful data for an official body. Among the many points on which guidance is needed is the area for most economical and efficient county administration. On this, at present, there is no general agreement. What is known, however, is that the revolutionary improvements and changes in modern transport conditions should permit of a substantial reduction in the number of counties.