Waimairi sees support for ‘smaller councils’

Press, 22 May 1986, Page 5

Waimairi sees support for ‘smaller councils’

The results of a survey of local bodies presented to the Waimairi District Council last evening showed the council was “good at what it does,” said the chairman, Mrs Margaret Murray. The lower approval recorded by Christchurch City ratepayers for their council also proved that being big did not mean being better, she said.

The relatively higher proportion of City ratepayers who were not aware of plans for local body reorganisation showed that they had been “kept in the dark.” Mrs Murray said that neither the Christchurch City Council nor the Local Government Commission had provided Christchurch ratepayers with information on alternatives to the single city plan which the two bodies favoured.

Waimairi had given information on all alternatives to its ratepayers, she said.

In outlining the results to the council, Mr Charles Lamb, of the Business Improvement Group, said most people in metropolitan Christchurch could see no clear reason for change. “Mr Elwood (the chairman of the commission) has not been clear in indicating why change is needed,” said Mr Lamb. He also said the survey showed that smaller councils tended to have a greater level of support

from the community. Service, rather than finance, also seemed to be more important to their ratepayers.

Mrs Murray criticised the power given to the commission. She said the legislation under which it worked gave it “all power.” If the commission decided on a single city for all of Christchurch, ratepayers would never be able to vote on a two city scheme.

Provision for public participation in the decision was limited to supporting or rejecting the decision made by the commission. Alternatives could not be considered.

A poll where 50 per cent of ratepayers in metropolitan Christchurch voted against the proposal would be needed to reject a single city. Such a system assumed that those who did not vote supported the proposal. Councillors expressed concern about not being able to sit in on the commission’s discussions leading to its decision on reorganisation in Christchurch. They were also

critical of sitting members of councils being members of the commission.

Mrs Murray said that the council had already been given an assurance that a Christchurch City councillor, Ms Vicki Buck, who was a member of the commission, took no part in the discussion involving reorganisation in Christchurch, but that concern had been expressed throughout New Zealand about the practice of allowing sitting councillors to be members of the commission. Several councillors thought council membership could influence the decisions of some members of the commission. The council decided to write to the commission asking for details of its discussions. It will also call a meeting of members of Parliament to discuss the poll procedures in the Local Body Act when dealing with reorganisation. Mrs Murray said the legislation had been gradually changed since 1946 until it had reached a stage where democracy had been “put aside.”