AMALGAMATIONS AND RATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1934, Page 6

AMALGAMATIONS AND RATES.

Local amalgamations are a searching test of good intentions. So the issue at Wairoa (Hawke's Bay), in the counties of North Auckland, and among the boroughs on the North Shore is whether the authorities can agree upon a pooling of interests. The idea behind each of the movements is to reduce the number of bodies by a grouping qf areas. Devonport's decision to stand aloof from the North Shore proposal limits the scope of the scheme to three boroughs, which have a low density of population, a low ratable value and a large area to be developed. A borough stretching from Birkdale to Milford, bringing together Birkenhead, Northcote and Takapuna, would be a curious-looking area. Not only would it have a rambling appearance, but most of the weight would be at the eastern end. Moreover, it would be a difficult area to weld into a single municipal unit. It would have a larger acreage than any other borough in New Zealand, yet its population would be not much greater than that of Devonport, which is to-day the smallest area and the most compact of the four municipalities across the harbour. Birkenhead and Northcote could bo naturally grouped as one, and Takapuna and Devonport as another, but any other arrangement would be less satisfactory. What the ratepayers on the North Shore will ask is whether a merger, as suggested, will give them relief in their rates; they will judge the issue on a basis of costs. And if there are savings to be made by an amalgamation of this kind ratepayers elsewhere will soon become restless. There are districts around Auckland where reform of local government apparently could be carried out with greater advantage than on the northern side. Efficiency and costs are the vital questions, and on this information is required as a guide to the public.