LOCAL BODY LOANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19388, 24 July 1926, Page 12

LOCAL BODY LOANS.

SPECIAL BOARD OF CONTROL.

CONSENT NEEDED FOR POLLS.

INVESTIGATION OF WORKS. PROVISIONS OF NEW BILL. [BY TELEGRAM. —SPECIAL REPORTER. ] WELLINGTON, Friday. The Local Government Loans Board Bill introduced to-day by Governor-Gen-eral's message states that it shall not be competent for any local authority to borrow or contract to borrow any . money from any source or, under any authority otherwise than in anticipation of, its revenue without the previous consent, of the Governor-General in Council given after compliance with the provisions of the bill. Tho Local Government Loans Board which the bill sets up is to consist of tho «rrigineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, the Secretary to the ..Treasury, and not more than five other persons who are to hold office during the GovernorGeneral's pleasure. A chairman may be appointed bv the Governor-General from time to time from among the members of the board. The board may make rules governing its own procedure. Every local authority which proposes to borrow any moneys otherwise than in anticipation of its revenue must apply to the board, giving particulars. The bo<ud may, through its members or other authorised persons, make such investigations as it thinks fit. Several Alternatives, ■■-. h : It may then :—(a) Sanction the application wholly or in part, with or; without conditions; (b) require the loan proposal to be divided into constituent items to be voted on separately by the ratepayers; <c) refer the application back to the local authority for modification or amendment; or (d) decline to sanction the proposed loan. In the last case no fresh application in respect of the same proposal^-ma'V' be lodged by the local authority Until-after twelve months have expired. No poll of ratepayers is to be taken before the board's sanction is notified to the local authority. and the board may require the authority to give public notice of such of the board's statements about the proposals as the board thinks fit and also to print the statement upon tho face of the ballot paper. Loans Without a Poll. , The result of the poll is to be notified to the Governor-General in Council for his consent and if no poll is required by law, the board must notify its sanction to the Governor-General in Council throtigh the Minister for Finance for similar consent, which in each case may be subject to conditions .respecting the rate of interest, term of the loan and conditions of repayment. , - Po\y;er to make regulations is .reserved and'!includes that of fixing the remuneration'and travelling expenses of the nonoffici&l members of the board; Replying to. questions regarding the contents of the bill and the method by which local authorities would conduct their dealings with -the new board, the Prime Minister said that Government departments such as the Public Works Department and the Treasuty would be represented .on the board. Their local officers woulcl immediately get into touch' ■with the local authority as to the nature of the work, the length of the loan, etc. The matter would be reported to the board which, if it saw fit, -. would. give its approval. The local authority would then proceed to go to the poll. , ... The board's approval would be stated on the ballot paper. If. the board rejected a proposal to borrow there.was no poll. After 12 months the authority, ,might renew its application, , The prpseut, system was that tjie Minister of Finance .issued an Order-in-,Council. This, was purely a formal matter. Under the bill the board took the whole responsibility- at once and it was entirely removed from the Minister.' , ' " .. Comments of Members. Mr. T. R. Sidey (Dunedin South) asked whether the. Prime. Minister would allow, ample time to permit pf v local authorities making - to members and, if necessary, . giving evidence. before a committee..,' Mr.; j G.. W.. - Forbes, .'Leader of. the National Party, asked ifa similar, thing could } M r done r With works' proposed "by the Government, Could, there lie .a board j to say Whether some of tftei£ ''und^rtapfc-; ings were necessary or advisable!' Mr. Fraser.: I take it the bill will be sent to the Local Bills .Committee or soine special committee so that all the local bodies interested will have ample opportunity ot,stating their views on the matter,, Every point of view should ; be., heard oii such ari important grOppsat Mr. W. A. Veitch (WanganuT) : 1" have had very stroti^^e^'^Defvtiti^ns : *from my electorate against l t yis yiewed with very great lalaMm* by r'atf.ile&it'i on? local body. I think it is about the most remarkable principle ever embodied in a bill in any British Parliament,- The'-re-sponsibilities of local bodies are to be taken away and to be handed over to a group df Government'officials, '!> "<■' ■ Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) : You have not seen the bill yet. T Mr. Veitch: I am only going on what the Prime Minister has told us. I presume he knows what is in the'bill. It seems to me the first effect of, this .bill •will be to bring disaster to minor harbour boards, while the major boards will get what is going and the partment - will reap a rich harvest at the expense of the harbours. «•.:» u. No TJnlair Advantage. Replying, Mr. Coates said the Government would give what time it possibly could for local bodies to state their views, but they were not going to give a whole lot of time, for if they did, they would be in an awkward position with their legislation. Bills were being sent to committees and he did not know 'when they would come back from those committees. He was going to reserVfe-to himself how tho right to say that what GovefntijeVit, business came along from this onward should be dealt with as expeditiously as possible, but there was no intention of taking a mean advantage. Ample opportunity would be given particularly in regard to this bill because he recognised there was more than one side to the question. As to the suggestion of Mr. Forbes it was not intended that this board should have the supervision of Government undertakings. Mr. Fraser: Are you sending it- In the Local Bills Committee ? Mr. Coates: I am not sure. The Committed of the House can deal with it just as well as anyone else as far as I know, - ;