Select Committee Favours Government Commission To Local Bodies

Northern Advocate, 1 November 1945, Page 3

Select Committee Favours Government Commission To Local Bodies

Amalgamations of a number of existing local bodies are favoured in the report of the Select Committee of 14 members of the House of Representatives which was set up in April of last year to inquire into all phases of local government of the Dominion, including the questions of finance, elections and the general structure of the system. The report was presented to Parliament yesterday. The committee is of the opinion that there are too many hospital boards, particularly in- Northland. The need for a thorough overhaul of the whole position of harbour facilities is also stressed. One of the main recommendations of the committee is that for setting up a Local Government Commission charged with the responsibility of drawing up schemes for reorganisation. The committee does not recommend that the Local Government (Amalgamations Schemes) Bill, 1937, be allowed to proceed. Principal Recommendations The following is a summary of the principal recommendations: — Amalgamations.—ln the districts of many territorial local authorities the area does not correspond with the community of interest. ' As a consequence, in some districts, as in Auckland and Christchurch, there are several territorial local authorities administering an area which could be administered by a single responsible body. In some cases urbanised areas of counties adjacent to boroughs should be included in the borough. In some cases smaller counties could with advantage be amalgamated among themselves or absorbed by larger counties.

Hospital Boards. Amalgamations: There are too many hospital boards. We recommend that steps be taken at a very early date to reduce considerably the number of hospital boards. In particular, we recommend that the six hospital boards opera-

ting iii Northland, should be amalgamated immediately.

Electric Power Boards.—-Amalgama-tions: Some electric power districts

are too small to operate as efficient units, and should be amalgamated with larger boards. Electricity Undertakings of Boroughs.—ln some cases small territorial local authorities are operating electric power distribution. These could be more effectively administered by a larger power board to include these urban areas.

Rabbit Boards.—While there may be a case for the retention of some of the larger rabbit boards, we think that in general, the problem of rabbit destruction should be the responsibility of the county councils.

Drainage and River Boards.—While there may be a case for the retention of large drainage and river boards, the territories of which extend beyond the territory of one county, yet, in general, we think that land drainage and fiver protection should be made the responsibility of the county councils. The implementing of* this decision should be left to the proposed Local Government Commission.

Harbour Boards. —There is a pressing need for a thorough overhaul of the whole position of the harbour facilities of the Dominion, particularly as to the smaller ports. There is some evidence that there should be some readjustment of the boundaries of harbour districts.

Although the destruction of noxious is the responsibility of the county councils, many of these bodies do not accept their responsibility. Steps should, therefore, be taken to compel county councils, where noxious weeds are a menace, to proceed effectively with their destruction. Prefers Present Rating - System The committee does not recommend any change in the present rating systems, or in the methods of change from one rating system to another, except that the period between polls for changing from capital or annual value to unimproved value, or vice vejrsa, should be six years. The committee recommended the abolition of the present statutory subsidies to counties. While retaining the present system of State highways and subsidies for main highways, counties should be given pound-for-pound subsidy on county roads, this subsidy to be found principally from, the Main Highways Fund. The committee does not propose any change in the present system of grants from the Public Works Fund. The unexpired liability of some county councils and some smaller borough councils on roads taken over for State and main highways should be immediately assumed by the Main Highways Board. On the question of the rating of Crown property, the committee says that some Government trading departments should pay rates. Trading undertakings of local authorities should also pay rates. Where the Crown takes over land for farming and housing, when it has previously been held by a private individual paying rates, the Crown should accept responsibility for all rates which accrue from the time it takes over the land. In other cases, when Crown land becomes revenue-producing, rates should be paid. Profits From Electricity Discussing electricity charges, the committee says territorial local authorities should not be permitted to use profits from electricity undertakings in relief of rates. Any profit belongs to the consumers and should be used for the reduction of charges or belter service. The committee also says that ultimately there should be one schedule of charges for the whole of New Zealand.

The guarantee system, whereby rural consumers have to guarantee at least 15 per cent, of the cost of reticulation, is described as unfair, and the committee supports the rural reticulation subsidy scheme, under which all electric-supply authorities and the Hydro-Electric Department would pay a small percentage of their revenue into a central fund for subsidising lines of - low consumer density. The committee also says that many municipal gas undertakings are working at considerable loss and power boards should be encouraged to take over such systems and operate them in conjunction with their electricity supply. An important recommendation is that the State should immediately set up an organisation to provide all local authorities with such loan moneys as they require, at a rate of interest very little ‘above that at which the State can borrow, and that no local authority should be empowered to borrow at above this rate. : Impartial Survey The setting up of a local government commission consisting of three salaried members, the chairman to ha\re the status of a judge of the Supreme Court, is one of the main recommendations. It is proposed that one member of the commission should be appointed by the Government because of his

(Special.) WELLINGTON, This Day knowledge of local government, and the third member appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the various national associations of local bodies. i “The commission,” says the report. , “should have the responsibility of 'carrying out a survey of the proolems of the area and function of all ■ local authorities in the Dominion, and of drawing up schemes for re- ; organisation. The commission should ' not merely deal with amalgamation of like bodies but also with the ab- | sorption of intei’nal bodies, such as 'rabbit, drainage and fire boards, by ! the territorial local authority, <jand, j generally, with the area and functions i of local bodies in the Dominion. I “We recommend that when such a j commission is set up the problems of | Auckland and Christchurch and of i hospital boards should be among the j first to be dealt with. I Reports To Parliament j “The commission is to be respon- ' sibie to Parliament. Its reports are to lie on the table of the House for 30 days, and, if not objected to, to become law.. If objected to by a local body through its members, of Parlia:ment specific questions under discussion should be submitted to a commit- | tee of the House which would have the right, if necessary, to amend the report in any particular. Once the i report is adopted by the House- it should become law. “It is recognised that to put this recommendation into operation will require legislation, and we* recommend that this legislation be proceeded with during the present session, of Parliament. It is not considered that statutory action will be necessary in every case of reorganisation if adeI quafe powers are given to the commission. We do not consider that a : poll of ratepayers should be required subsequent to the findings of the commission.” j The committee adds that it does not suggest that local body boundaries ' should be altered summarily or fre{quenlly. There should be a stability ; about local government if it is to be effective, and the suggested commission would provide this stability.

Urgent Reform Needed “Our investigations have proved conclusively that reform is urgently necessary.” states the report. ‘This is not to say that local authorities have not in general performed their work most satisfactorily in the past, but rather that greater efficiency pnd greater service to the community as a whole is possible. “Lccal government has been weakened by the tendency which has been apparent over the years to set up special boards for every special problem which emerges. Therefore, within any given area there is a diffusion of effort and consequent wastage which has produced in the Dominion a series of unco-ordinated local authorities. “Road boards, for instance, performed a useful function at a time when trans port facilities were bad,” the committee adds. “The lime came, however, when they were no longer necessary and. no.v that the last of the road boards properly so-called has disappeared, no one would suggest that New Zealand has lost anything by their disappearance. “On the contrary, the possibility of coordinated development by the counties has increased. Similarly, certain other bodies are anachronistic at the present time. The mere fact that they have performed a useful function in the past is no justification for their continuance. New Zealand would not suffer if many of the minor local authorities were to disappear. The report upholds Parliament’s decision to* consider reforms now, instead of deferring 'thorn until conditions have reverted to some.form of normalcy. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that because of the very wide nature of the committee’s order of reference, it had nor. been able to deal with the detailed problems of specific areas, not that these, problems were unimportant and would not have to be ultimately solved, but rather that it had deemed its function was to arrive at general principles and to devise general machinery which would enable the specific problems to be solved within the framework of a general plan.