The Press SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1973. Confusion on the reform of local government

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33241, 2 June 1973, Page 14

The Press SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1973. Confusion on the reform of local government

The Minister of Local Government (Mr May) spoke to representatives of Canterbury local bodies in Christchurch on Thursday evening about the reform of local government. The occasion should have been a milestone on the long and tortuous road towards overdue reforms. In one unfortunate sense it fulfilled this expectation—unfortunate because it suggested that the Minister himself is confused about the whole subject. This would not be so serious if he were still gathering his thoughts about how to guide reform; but the bill to implement the Government’s ideas on local government is already being drafted.

There need be no doubt about Mr May's good intentions. He sees the need for reform: he knows it is urgent: he is aware of the difficulties that have always been encountered in trying to change the structure of local government. He said that he expected to have to fight opposition and that he would be prepared to do so. Mr May’s professed faith in letting people decide what kind of local government they want is admirable: yet he expects obstruction to reform. He said that the area schemes for reform, now being considered in several parts of the country, must be abandoned. He proposed regional schemes, which would somehow emerge from the good sense of local people but would not be put into effect unless a new commission, with the necessary “ teeth ”, went into action.

It did not seem to worry Mr May that some voluntary amalgamations might make nonsense of a regional plan. It is probably unwise to draw any firm conclusions from what Mr May told the meeting, for it is unlikely that anyone who attended would agree with anyone else what Mr May had in mind. If a similar meeting is called on another occasion, the Government should provide a spokesman who will clarify its intentions rather than throw everyone’s thinking into confusion.