Committee To Investigate Spreading Rates Burden

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30191, 24 July 1963, Page 14

Committee To Investigate Spreading Rates Burden

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter] WELLINGTON, July 23. The establishment of a committee to consider whether the Government should pay rates or grants on Crown properties was announced in Parliament tonight by the Minister of Internal Affairs (Sir Leon Gotz). He said the committee would consist of representatives of the Internal Affairs Department, the Treasury, the Municipal Association and the Counties Association.

The committee would: (1) Explore first whether, and to what extent, the Crown should pay additional rates or grants in lieu of rates on its properties. (2) Accepting that the cost of financing local government should be spread more evenly through the country, explore: (a) To what extent this could be achieved under the existing system of rating or charging or any variation of these and (b) what alternative or additional sources of revenue were considered to be practicable and desirable to achieve this end. (3) Establish whether there was a need for setting up a separate local authorities finance corporation. (4) Establish whether, and to what extent, subsidies should be made available for the provision of water and sewerage services. It was not proposed, Sir Leon Gotz said, that the committee should cover the ground already covered by the Royal Commission on Local Authority Finance—the Stanton commission.

mendations were not acceptable, the committee would start afresh to explore these various points. Consideration would have to be given as to what Crown properties, if any. such as public reserves, hydro-electric schemes, military camps, departmental offices, post offices and the like should be charged rates. Providing water and sewerage services in fast-growing areas had put local authorities to considerable expense. Sir Leon Gotz said. They had had some assistance, but the matter was now going to be reviewed. The Government would not approve any scheme whereby the Government would be called on to act as the agency for collecting any tax to be handed to local authorities. This had also been the attitude of the Opposition. The cost of providing and maintaining services was now met entirely by ratepayers who, in many cases, comprised orily 40 per cent, of the people. He hoped the committee would be able to suggest means of assisting toward meeting this burden.

As the compiission’s recom-