CONTIGUOUS TO CITIES

Evening Star, Issue 21580, 28 November 1933, Page 10

CONTIGUOUS TO CITIES

BOROUGHS' AMALGAMATION FEARS ALTERATION TO BILL SOUGHT [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, November 28. Requesting that the clauses in the Municipal Corporations Bill providing for the amalgamation of contiguous municipalities without a poll being taken be withdrawn, representatives of the borough councils adjoining the four principal cities waited on Mr Forbes and Mr Young this morning. Consideration of the ease made out was promised by the Prime Minister. Mr Edgar, on behalf of the St. Kilda, Green Island, and West Harbour Boroughs, said that when St. Kilda took a poll on the question 80 per cent, of the voters were in favour of self-government. St. Kilda was now arranging a conversion loan which would result in the borough being free of debt in twenty-one years. It had nothing to gain from amalgamation with Dunedin. ... The Minister of Internal Affairs said that if the legislation went through it would mean that a commission would hear evidence on every proposal, and the commission would make a report to the Minister in charge, and the matter would then be considered by the Government. The same provisions as were proposed were in the Counties Act, and there had been no complaint. It was not a matter on which the Government would stand or fall. ... The Prime Minister said that the object of the proposals was to ensure economy. Amalgamations would only take place if the Government was convinced that they would bo in the best interests of the residents of the districts. The Government was continually being urged to reduce the number of‘local bodies, but it did not intend to have amalgamations merely for the sake'of amalgamations.