Policy expected by July

Press, 6 May 1988, Page 8

Policy expected by July

The Local Government Commission’s chairman, Mr Brian Elwood, is expecting Government policy announcements on local government reform to be made by early July. That is when he expects to know the new guidelines for the commission on local government restructuring. Once those policy decisions are announced the commission and the councils will know where they are going, Mr Elwood says. Discussions on reform will be able to start again, although the legislative changes to implement the new policies will not be introduced in Parliament until the end of the year. The Minister of Local Government, Dr Bassett, has said the bill gating

the parameters of local government reform will be in the House “on the eve of Christmas” for study in the recess.

Mr Elwood does not foresee any problems with continuing the reform process before the legislative changes are enacted. “It is a technique the Government has used to let people know what is happening a while before the law is in place.” He predicted the changes would be implemented no earlier than March of next year. “The commission would not be likely to commit a final scheme to paper in a form for implementation by Order-in-Council until the law was actually adopted, but we can certainly do the groundwork,” he said. The identity of new local authorities would need to be known by June of next year in time for the J local body elections in October.

“We need to have all the legal work done by June. That would give time for the preparation of rolls, nominations and so on.” Mr Elwood said that October, 1989, was the date to which the commission was working. The date had been set by the Government. Dr Bassett reiterated on Wednesday that the reform package would be ready by June next year. In the meantime the commission has been quietly working on areas where there is local agreement on the direction amalgamations should take or where “there are not too many options." Christchurch reform is on hold until the Govemmentjnakes its policy announcement.