Amalgamation of councils still set for May

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 5

Amalgamation of councils still set for May

Moves to combine Christchurch councils will begin on time in May and no significant changes to the plan released in February are expected, in spite of opposition from some councils and ratepayers. The chairman of the Local Government Commission, Mr Brian Elwood, said that in spite of calls to extend the time for submissions beyond May 1 and concern about the one-city plan, it was likely amalgamation would occur as originally planned. “Nothing I have heard so far leads me to think any modification to the general proposal outlined in February will be necessary,” he said. The Christchurch City Council, Waimairi District Council, Heathcote County Council, and Riccarton Borough Council seemed unlikely to agree on any alternative.

Although no further talks with councils were planned, Mr Elwood said he was willing to meet council representatives at any time. Mr Elwood was in Waimairi yesterday to discuss amalgamation with residents and organisations. Some people were concerned that local government reform in New Zealand would result in largescale units similar to those that existed in England, he said. The English situation would not apply in New Zealand because the scale and the number of functions was much smaller, said Mr Elwood. Local government in England was concerned with housing, health, education, and policing, which was not the case in New Zealand. The Waimairi District Council’s decision to stay out of discussions about

amalgamation with other Christchurch councils was disappointing and created another difficulty in determining what it wanted. However, efforts were being made to find out all points of view, said Mr Elwood. A meeting with the council’s staff was held yesterday afternoon. Mr Elwood denied a claim by the Christchurch Ratepayers Protection Society that he was unwilling to front up before the public and justify his re-organisation plan. Dicussions with the public throughout Christchurch on five separate occasions proved that comments were welcome and the commission’s view was being put, he said. However, . the public meeting the ratepayers’ committee was seeking would be useless and would only create controversy;