Nat. Govt would repeal bill—Lee

Press, 17 June 1988, Page 3

Nat. Govt would repeal bill —Lee

A National Government would repeal the “totally undemocratic, shockingly unconstitutional and wholly unacceptable” Local Government Amendment Bill, said the Opposition spokesman on local government, Mr Graeme Lee. He told the Local Government Association conference in Christchurch that he represented an Opposition that was outraged at the challenge the bill made against New Zealand’s constitutional law and its dismissal of the supremacy of Parliament. If the bill became an act it would put democracy in jeopardy, he said.

“I represent an Opposition that is outraged at the way in which people’s rights, fought for and won, have been hurled aside and trampled on at the whim of a few. The bill must not be passed. The bill must go.”

Mr Lee said that because the bill had removed any right of appeal to the High Court on points of law, a National Government would strongly consider re-estab-lishing that right in the form of a special local government-oriented appeal court.

It would also consider providing a system , whereby those authorities' that had been forcibly amalgamated could be reestablished by putting their case to an “independent tribunal.” Mr Lee told delegates that the conference represented a milestone in local government history. “What we have heard to date suggests that for many of you this will be your last conference as individual council authorities and indeed possibly two-thirds of the conference attendance will be history by the triennial elections of 1989,” he said. Although the National

Party believed genuine reform was important, it was not acceptable to order change on false assumptions or to bring it about by bullying. Mr Lee said that although change should be locally driven, central government should not ignore its responsibilities. Social services such as health, education and social welfare should remain the responsibility of central government. Regional units, where applicable, must also be seen as an integral part of local government and not as an isolated second tier, he said. “We believe local government can do its job better, with more positive, less bureaucratic legislation.” Mr Lee said that although changes would require special funding, a National Government would not apply GST to rates. After a question from the floor asking whether it was still National Party policy to abolish the Local Government Commission, Mr Lee said National believed a tribunal structure was more appropriate than a commission. A tribunal would operate in a more “communal" sense.