Reforms create monster—Murray

Press, 25 January 1989, Page 8

Reforms create monster—Murray

A bureaucratic monster for the metropolitan area and half of Banks Peninsula is the Waimairi District chairman’s summation of the new Christchurch City in the draft final local government reform scheme for Christchurch.

Mrs Margaret Murray said yesterday that the Local Government Commission had missed the real question of how to decentralise the new city administration so service could be improved and costs to the ratepayer held.

The challenge to councils other than Christchurch City, which held half the voting on the transition committee, was to provide good service.

The City Council will have five of the 15 voting members of the transition committee.

Mrs Murray hoped that the “City fathers will demonstrate some caring concern towards reflecting communities of interest ... and pay more than lip-service to decentralising functions to ensure Christchurch gets a better service.”

Waimairi was not happy with the

commission’s imposition of ward boundaries proposed by the City Council. Those with intimate knowledge of communities of interest in their areas had not been consulted, she said.

She cited the example of Bishopdale being divided between the Bishopdale and Styx Wards by using Harewood as a boundary. The seven service centres proposed for the new city were not well located in relation to ward boundaries, she said.

The proposed centres would not be suitable as service centres unless they were to be small receiving offices rather than suppliers of services. Where was the room at Bishopdale, Barrington Street Mall or Church Corner for adequate service centres? Mrs Murray asked. Would town planning changes be needed to supply sites?

She believed a major centre for two or three wards would be better.

In spite of reservations, Waimairi’s three members on the transition committee would do their utmost to get the best deal for all residents, Mrs Murray said.