MERGING OF COUNTIES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3930, 23 July 1937, Page 5

MERGING OF COUNTIES

WAIKATO, WAIPA, RAGLAN. MINISTER SAYS “NO INSUPERABLE BARRIER.” Representatives of the Waikato, Waipa and Raglan County Councils, and of the Hamilton Borough Council, attended a conference called in Ham ilton on Wednesday afternoon, by the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, to discuss the proposals of the Minister for the reorganisation and amalgamation of local body government. In his address the Minister said that he did not consider that there was any insuperable difficulty in the way of amalgamation of the three counties.

Mr S. C. B. Macky, chairman of the Waipa County Council, was voted to the chair. Messrs C. A. Barrell and R. Coulter, M’s-P. for Hamilton and Waikato, were also present. “Each of tlie three counties has already made some forward move in connection with the Amalgamation Bill, in that each council has already conferred with the smaller local authorities within its area,” said Mr Parry, in opening his address, "but no results have yet been achieved in evolving a scheme of internal amalgamation. This was to be expected, however, as the conferences held had been confined to exploratory work. “To-day I propose to tackle the problem from a different basis,” said the Minister, “that is, from the point of view that county reorganisation must come first.” “WHOLE STRUCTURE WEAKENED.” "I would like at this stage,” he continued, “to make it clear that the local government reform plans for the Dominion are not just a matter of county amalgamations. I have heard it said on several occasions that the Bill deals with the rural areas only. That, however, is not the position; Ihe Bill is all-embracing. “The position is that when I first took office, it was not difficult to reach the conclusion that there are far too many local bodies in this Dominion. I am satisfied that the existence of this large number has tended to weaken tlie whole structure of local government- and retard proper development. I think there is no question but that the powers and activities of local bodies to-day are severely, restricted as the outcome of having so many local bodies, many of them operating in a small way and on a very small income, and tho proper method of approach to a local body consolidation plan is through the county system of government. CREATION OF STRONG UNITS. “I believe that we must reconstruct our county units so as to create from the existing ones strong units, able to cope with the modern requirements of local government in an efficient and scientific way, and to have the funds necessary to attend to the major local government requirements of a locality. • I believe that if we do this as a first step, then, in due course, the new county councils thus formed will automatically assume control of the bulk of the local government. functions. now carried out by a multitude of smaller local bodies; and in the ultimate we will be left with two main strong local government units, the county unit and the municipal unit, between them discharging the bulk oi the local government services of this Dominion. That is my viewpoint and my aim. “This objective can only be achieved by a somewhat drastic review of tlie present county boundaries, but it it. difficult to produce a formula able to stand all the severe tests likely to be applied to it. The results I have in mind would be ultimately achieved if we could get, to the stage where the North Island would have about 25 counties and the South Island 20.” TENTATIVE PLAN. “I prepared a tentative plan of county re-organisation for the Dominion,” Mr Parry went on, “and the main guiding principle that I. followed in doing so was that if a county council is governing and controlling an area sufficiently large, with no community of interest with any other county, then that council is doing its work. Where, however, there are counties with interests identical with adjoining counties, there must be amalgamation. “My aim is to remove what I am afraid is too prominent in connection with our counties to-day, a series of artificial dividing lines. I came to the conclusion that the three counties represented here to-day, namely, Rag lan, Waikato and Waipa, were suitable for formation into one county, and I have provided accordingly. "Having regard to the consideration affecting this district and the general community of interest in the area covered by those three counties, I think there is no insuperable barrier io their amalgamation. If there are any principal difficulties, then I expect you will tell me of them.” Tlie Minister compared the proposed new county with Hawke’s Bay and Southland counties, tlie largest in the North and South Islands in area, rateable capital vafue and population; Statistics quoted for Hawke’s Bay, Southland and the proposed county were respectively as follows: Area, 1673, 3736 and 2018 square miles; rateable capital value £10,639,415, £12,583,373 and £14,708,252; population 15,779, 27,126 and 35,331.