LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION APPOINTED

Grey River Argus, 17 April 1947, Page 4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION APPOINTED

P.A. WELLINGTON, April 16. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. W. G. Parry, announced tonight, that the following have been appointed to the Local Government Commission,' pursuant to the Local Government Commission Act, 1946: Mr I. J. Goldstine, 0.8. E. (Mayor of One Tree Hill) has been appointed chairman of the commission. Mr Goldstine’s wide experience of local. government problems, together with' his extensive legal training, fit him adequately for such a judicial post as chairman, which carries with it a status equivalent to that of a judge of the Supreme Court, said Mr Parry. The second member appointed by the Government is Mr W. C. # E. George, o? Rotorua. Mr George was some years ago Mayor of Huntly, in which position he was responsible for many improvements in that town. He was also a- prominent member of the Municipal Association. The other two members, nominated by the National Associations of Local Bodies, and appointed by the Government are: Mr J. W. Andrews (Mayor of Lower . Hutt, and President of the Municipal Association), and Mr G. A. Monk (Chairman of the Horowhenua County Council, who is also a very prominent member of the Counties’ Association. ■ The commission, said Mr Parry, is a very strong body, and should command the confidence of every one who has the well-being of local government in New Zealand at heart. The members have given long and valued service in local bodies throughout the Dominion and all have proved in their national association that they have that wide vision necessary to enable them to undertake the onerous work of the commission. The setting up of this commission marks a milestone in the constitutional history of the Dominion, said Mr Parry. For over fifty years Parliament has tried to produce some method of dealing with what is recognised as one of the most difficult problems in the Dominion. We now have a non-poli-tical body in the form of a judicial commission presided over by one who has the status of a judge, charged with the duty of so re-organising the local government structure of the Dominion that it will be able to carry out effectively heavy tasks that lie before it in the post-war world.