The Press TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1967. A South Island Voice

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31448, 15 August 1967, Page 14

The Press TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1967. A South Island Voice

Mr A. D. Dick, M.P., has presented to Parliament a bill to establish a South Island Development Council Mr Dick’s motives will be applauded by all who wish to see the South Island advance, but in this bill he seems to be unintentionally admitting that members from the South Island are failing to make their voices heard by the Government. If persuasive arguments exist for promoting the South Island for the common good of the whole country why are these not already heard in the right places? Might it be because the men who guide and make decisions on behalf of the whole country seldom, if ever, see what happens in the South Island? Is it because Government surveys of the resources of regions are not being pushed ahead? Is it because no-one has really exposed the cost to the country of the present distribution of people—as workers and consumers—and the costs of moving power, materials, and goods from one part of the country to another? If any of these reasons explains why the South Island is developing at a slower rate than the North Island the demand for changes should not be coming only from the South Island. The preamble of Mr Dick’s bill suggests that the good sense of developing the South Island and its resources is beyond doubt That need not be argued. If development in one place is to be preferred to development in another because of the national interest then a South Island Development Council or a North Island Development Council is not the organisation to decide what is for the best. Either must end in being just another voice—louder, perhaps, and more concerted than any other—for regional interests. This is to be avoided. If the majority of members in the House of Representatives cannot see what is the best for the whole of New Zealand, if the Government’s advisers in the Public Service are inclined to overlook the South Island—and we do not believe that they are—none will inform themselves better because yet another committee relieves them of their duty to inform themselves. The very existence of such a committee would encourage them to regard the South Island as a place separate from the rest of the country, and beyond their direct responsibility because it has a voice of its own. Far too many members of Parliament are unfamiliar with what communities outside their own are capable of doing. Their interest in New Zealand should be broadened, not narrowed by hints of separation. Indeed, if a committee had to be appointed to watch over the interests of the South Island for the benefit of the whole country that committee should be composed wholly of members of Parliament from North Island districts.