TOWN PLANNING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1207, 16 August 1911, Page 4

TOWN PLANNING.

GOVERNMENT BILL DROPPED. EFFECT OF AN AMENDMENT. The Town Planning Bill, promoted by tho Hon. G. Fowlds, and carried as far as the Committee stiige, has been abandoned. The reason which Sir. Fowlds gives for this decisjon is that the amendment niiiilc in CVniniittcp on Friday evening involved the adoption of virtually bureaucratic Government. Tho amendment,, which determined the fate of tho measure, was carried by HI votes to :>!). Tho original clauti? in tho Bill was lie follows:— Approval of Scheme: The Gnv-ernor-in-Couueil may cither approve or disapprove of the scheme, or ho may approve of the fame with such modifications as ho thinks fit, or hemay refer the scheme, to the board for further inquiry. For this, the Committee substituted tho following clause:— The board may either approve or disapprove of the scheme, or it may approve of tho same with such modifications ns it thinks fit, or it mayrefer tho scheme back to the Council for further inquiry. In an interview last evening Mr. Fowlds explained that, tho effect of tho amendment was that the>Town.Pknniiiß Board, ooinposad mainly of Government officials, would 1)3 entrusted with the discharge of duties and given the responsibility of administrative Acts, which only responsible Ministers of the Crown should discharge and bear. Apparently members generally did not understand that they had authorised the establishment of a bureaucratic. Government, though ho had used cvory possible argument to explain that tho proposal involved a revolution in constitutional Government. Unless an entire change in the {.ystem of Government was contemplated, tho Govcrnor-in-Council must remain the supreme and final authority in all national administrative Acts.

The Minister added that only the head of the Government was entitled to decide upon tho course of action to 1» followed when important a change in constitutional government was suggested. Iα those circumstances, lie had to withdraw the Bill, believing that .even in the case of so important a measure as the Town Planning Bill, tho delay of a year was of less importance than the acceptance without fuller consideration of radical alteration in constitutional methods involved by the resolution of the House in Committee,

Mr. Vow Ids said he could not state definitely whether tho Bill would bo brought before tho House again this session or not.

In connection with the Minister's state, ment, it may be mentioned that, according to Clause 12 of tho Bill, tlie Town Planning Board is to consist of the Sur-veyor-General as chairman, and four other persons to be appointed by the Governor-ln-Council, and to hold oflice for five years. This clause had not been reached when tho House discontinued its consideration of the Bill 'in Committee. Tho member for Auckland East, Mr. A. M. Myers, gave notice yesterday of a proposal ' that tho Government should engage, a town-planning expert, whore rervices would bo available to local bodies desirous of considering and entering into tho question of town-improvement and of arranging a definite policy for their future expansion,