“NOT WORKABLE.”

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3518, 8 May 1912, Page 5

“NOT WORKABLE.”

THE PROPOSED LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT. - AN INTERESTING RESUME. OF . ITS PROVISIONS AND EFFECTS. . The proposed “Local Government Act,” to be considered when Parliament meets, has met with great disfavor, and the general opinion is that it will receive very poor support in the House unless it is remodelled and amended in various ways. Its provisions are- not widely known, and an analysis of the proposed Act will be acceptable. The result, therefore, of a Times reporter’s conversation with Dr Collins, who has made a study of the Act, should prove of interest. “The present method of local legislation,” began the doctor, “is not what one might call legislation of centralisation, and the Local Government Bill is intended to bring about, as far as possible, local legislation confined to provinces, which would centralise, making it, if possible, under the eyes of the Government, more effective and cheaper and possibly under more direct Government control.” . The object of the Bill, he continued, was to form a local government board, also to split up the Dominion into provinces, of 24 in number, and to form for each province a' provincial council. The provincial council would he under the hoard’s direct control. Legislation affecting hospitals, charitable aid, public health, education, harbors, roads, rivers, water supply, and main reads and bridges would come under the direct control of the councils. The provincial councils would have power to impose general rates, special rates, and separate, rates, and also to raise special loans for public works- The division of power between the borough councils, county councils, and the provincial councils was based on a principle that all powers which could be adequately exercised within _ the limits of a single borough or a single county, were vested in the borough and in the county council’s district, while powers which, for their effectual exercise, required to be extended beyond the limits of the county or borough, were entrusted to the provincial councils. SOME PECULIARITIES. Dealing with some peculiarities of the Bill, Dr. Collins made clear, by illustration, some of the apparent weaknesses of the" proposed legislation. A local government board, presumably, was to be formed of the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Under-Secretary for Internal Affairs, tlte Under-Secre-tary for Crown Lands, and the Undersecretary for Public Works, along with other persons, not exceeding three in number, which the Government thought fit to -appoint. All local legislation would be under the supreme authority of the local government board, the appointees to be there by virtue of their offices or at the Governor’s pleasure, without any opportunity being offered the people for an expression of the franchise. Part 1, section 4, of the proposed Bill provided that the meeting of the board should be private, which: deprived the possibility of any public expression of opinion as to their deliberations and determinations; and as a quorum consisted of four members of the board, any determinations affecting the local legislation of the Dominion could take place'in camera, at the decision _of three of its members, the solemppoincees of the Governor or Governor-in-Couneil. Section 10 of the Act provided that nothing in the Act should render it an obligation 'on the local government board to hear evidence or otherwise act judicially in the exercise of any power, jurisdiction, or authority vested in it. True, the former was given for the exercise of the franchise in the election of members 1 of the provincial councils, in so far as that they would be elected by the electors of the local authority of the district, but, at any time, by Order-in-Council, the representation of the provincial council could be taken awav from any constituency or combined district, and the representative of that district would, perforce, have to retire.

TREMENDOUSLY LARGE DISTRICT. With regard to our own district, examination of the schedule showed that it was embraced in the province of the Bay of Plenty, including Whakatane, Opotiki, W&iapu. Waikohu, and Cook, a tremendously large district. The representation was in proportion to the value of the rateable property in each of these constituent districts. Therefore, it was fair to presume that representation would be greater in these districts in which the value of the rateable property was larger, and as the provincial councils had the power to raise general, special, and separate rates (the latter by consent of the Governor-in-Counci 1), the expenditure of these rates would be, in the course of human events, greater in tlie directions where representation was largest, and the representatives.of the larger districts could never realise or grasp the necessities arising n the lesser districts for equality in the expenditure of general or special ratesThe- time would thus come when it would he necessary to raise separate rates for the neglected districts, and they would be saddled, not only with the interest accruing on a separate rate, but would not be getting the justice due to them by the expenditure of the general and special rates. That must strike all the representatives of local bodies, more especially in Waiapu, Opotiki, and Whakatane,_ for what knowledge could the provincial representatives of the Gisborne _ district have of the wants and requirements which were being legislated for now. in the districts mentioned? And what would such districts suffer under the proposed scheme ? It would give rise to legislative wrangles, and the lien s share would be for the greatest representation. ATTEMPT TO DISFRANCHISE. Now, queried the doctor, how was it proposed by. tlie Act to legislate for roads, bridges, charitable .aid, public health, education, harbors, and eo forth? It was intended that the provincial councils should, for-the legislation of those functions of their power, ' form committees for the purpose. To

enable the provincial council more effectually (take note) to exericse the powers and functions and duties conferred upon it by the Act, every council should, from time to time and at all times, maintain a committee, to be collect the hospital or education or other committees of the council, as the ease might ibe. These committees would be empowered to exercise such powers, fuhetions, and duties of the provincial council as the council thought fit to delegate to them. Now came the surprising part. These committees might comprise, not merely members of the council, but such other persons, not being members of the council, as the council thought fit to appoint, not more than three in number. Here again was a distinct attempt on the part of the Government for general disfranchisement of the people who only a short time ago were granted it. GOVERNMENT APPOINTEES. Experience had proved over and over again that, in local legislation, Government appointees, as a rule, were chosen for valuable services rendered from time to time to tlie Government. They were not direct representatives, of the people, and in all legislative departures they must and would act in deference to the wishes of the Government authority, rather than the desires and wishes of the people- The provincial council might at any time appoint on its education or hospital committee a man from among the population having the greatest representation on the provincial council, and they would act and must act as more or less-tied members, as tlieir electors desired. Such members, therefore, c-ouhl not be expected to consider wants from the outside districts. In this way, while the district with the greatest representation would receive the plums of - local, legislation, the sparsely populated districts, as mentioned before, would have-poor representation on the provincial councils. TOO CRUDE, In a word, Dr. Collins considered that the Bill was premature, but might be made workable with several amendments. The gentral principle was right, in so far that it had always been the aim of every Government to centralise rather than decentralise. Of course, as at present framed, the Bill had not the slightest hope of being placed on the Statute Book., “It is,” concluded the doctor, “too crude in its present state, and I do not think it will ever be presentable until a. Dominion conference of local bodies’ representatives is held to amend the Bill and put it into more workable shape.”