THE PRESS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1982. An opportunity missed

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 16

THE PRESS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1982. An opportunity missed

The majority decision of the Canterbury United Council not to have itself replaced by a directly-elected regional council, and rejection even of a proposal to study the idea further, will do nothing to improve the generally negative image the council has in most eyes. A member of the council accurately described the present compromise as second prize. It was created as a result of political expediency at the national level and -has suffered from suspicion, a lack of enthusiasm at the local level, and an apparent lack of purpose sufficient to interest electors and ratepayers. Canterbury needs regional direction to escape the inertia and economic doldrums that beset it; the province also needs a unified regional voice to address the Government on regional issues. It also needs a regional government with the independence and authority to be effective and to overcome, when necessary and justified, petty local obstruction. The main achievement of the United Council to date has been to show that it is unable to fulfil these functions. However good the intentions of the council’s members may be, they are hampered by the inadequacies of the present system. The council has tried to identify for itself a nole or a cause that would convince the public that the council has a useful reason to exist. The council has not been

successful. Opponents of a change to a regional council feared that a directlyelected body with its own administrative support would cost more money without being more effective. The cost of the present council, and more particularly the disproportionate amount of the cost that is being met by Christchurch City ratepayers, is already a matter of concern. Ratepayers would prefer to see some tangible return for their money, but this is unlikely while the council remains in its present, largely impotent, form.

While members of the United Council are appointed by the territorial local authorities on which they also serve, too much is being asked of them. The added work-load could mean that already busy councillors are not able to give sufficient attention to either. A directly-elected regional council should enable its members to devote themselves to the interests of the region as a whole and avoid the almost inevitable parochial loyalties attached to the present system. Further study of a change to a regional council and its financial, administrative, and representational implications should be made. The United Council does not have a reputation for conspicuous action; shelving this issue will confirm the public’s impression, however unfairly based, that it is a do-nothing council.