United Council to control museum?

Press, 3 June 1982, Page 6

United Council to control museum?

‘/The Canterbury United Council may consider taking tfie Canterbury Musueum

under its wing as a regional function. ■'Continuing financial difficulties’, for the museum had prompted the idea, said the United Council’s principal officer, Mr J. H. Gray, yesterday. ■ He told the new policy and resources committee that it could consider whether handling of the museum’s affairs by the council would be a better long-term answer to those problems than “patch-

up” legislation that would allow the museum to change its funding formula. ■.'A draft Musueum Trust Board Amendment Bill will bp sent to local bodies soon. -Each year,' the musueum has to depend on voluntary supplementary payments from Canterbury local bodies to avoid a deficit. Museum board members have been working on a new levy formula that would be acceptable to all local bodies. ' Mr Gray said he was “not entirely sure” that an amendment to the board’s 1947 legislation would solve its long-term financial prob? lems. ,- \ ‘ ;■' • . "Quite clearly, we are talking about a regional function here,” he said. • The committee decided that it should talk to the

board about how to over-

qome the problems. Mr Gray said that the issue had enough regional significance to warrant a special United Council meeting. It was important to ' make submissions on the ' draft, legislation early be-? tause 'often insufficient.time had been allowed to ; send information to Parliament-

ary committees. .. •' \ If the United^Council did 'not want to take over the •rtiuseum’s affairs, it' had a responsibility to ’assist • the Aboard in finding a long-term solution to its difficulties, he said. ' ' ; *

' The board’s chairman, Mr ;Hamish Hay, said thattits ■finance’; committee had.-dis-cussed the draft bill,' and

there had been a meeting with the member of Parliament for Christchurch Central (Mr G. W. R. Palmer), who would present such a bill. Mr Palmer had asked whether the matter had been discussed with the United Council, as the Local Bills Committee was certain to

ask the question. The amendment bill would put the new funding formula into law, Mr Hay said. The formula bases contributions from local bodies on population distance from the museum, and a figure for capital value of property in a local body’s area. It would be adjusted annually.