LOCAL BODY MERGERS

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27924, 22 March 1956, Page 14

LOCAL BODY MERGERS

MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION DISCUSSION (New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, March 21. Some of the small municipalities were perturbed at the danger of being swallowed up by amalgamation, said Mr N. H. Moss, president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand, at the annual conference of the association. Some of these small bodies would benefit from amalgamation, but with others amalgamation would not work, and therefore he hoped that the Local Government Commission would not adopt a blanket attitude and carry out amalgamations whether they were desirable or not. “I suggest that the Municipal Association should not adopt the policy of opposing amalgamation in all cases, but should agree to amalgamation where it will be an advantage,” he said. “It is generally supposed that the merger of small bodies with larger bodies makes for greater efficiency and economy, but I do not think this is always the case.” said Mr R. Braithwaite, Mayor of Hamilton.

Mr K. W. Low. Mayor of Te Kuiti. agreed that amalgamation would be beneficial in certain cases, but he protested against blanket statements such as that made by the chairman of the Local Government Commission that towns of 3000 to 4000 people had little chance of surviving as separate entities in the field of local body government. “Such blanket statements give rise to apprehension among the smaller local bodies, and I think that apprehension should be given some publicity,” Mr Low said.