LOCAL BODIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20673, 11 March 1937, Page 10

LOCAL BODIES

PROPOSALS FOR AMALGAMATION MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE DISCUSSION The Local Government (Amalgamation Schemes) Bill was considered at the conference of the Municipal Association in Timaru yesterday, when two remits dealing with the position came forward. The first remit from Motueka read: “That it be a recommendation of this conference that a clause be inserted in the Local Bodies Amalgamation Bill, that no borough be amalgamated with county without a referendum of the people.” Mr R. J. L. York said that if the Act was allowed to be passed without some such clause as suggested by the remit, then counties would be able to absorb small boroughs, and this would be unfair. He believed that the whole Act was placing the cart before the horse. However, they had the promise of the Minister that he was going to undertake a national survey, and if amalgamation was going to commence before that survey was undertaken, they would have a worse situation than before. He appealed to the conference to pass the remit, for the Act did not give the people any right to decide the question by a rererendum. The motion was seconded by Mr F. Ramsbottom (Patea). Mr W. Appleton (Wellington) said he considered that it would be a retrograde step for any proposal of the sort to be put through without a referendum. The remit was carried. The second remit was from Patea as follows:—“That the Government be asked, in carrying out its policy under the Amalgamation Schemes Bill, to give consideration to reverting to the county and borough system of control and to abolish all other boards administering special services within the areas of the existing counties and boroughs.” In formally moving the adoption of the remit, Mr L. W. Austin (Patea) sugested that they were agreed that amalgamations of local bodies were, in some directions at least, both essential and desirable. The Government should be congratulated upon bringing down its Amalgamation Schemes Bill, even if it only gave the whole subject of local government an airing. Besides, this Association had agreed at previous conferences that the time had arrived when the whole system was due for review. In considering the question, his Council, after a lot of thought, had come to the conclusion that the original county and borough system was not only the best but also the cheapest and that it should be reverted to. The counties and boroughs already had practically all the powers necessary to carry out all the duties and services required in their areas and the other local bodies were superfluous. Reducing Expense Mr Austin said that there were 249 counties and boroughs and 435 other bodies administering services in their areas which the existing counties and boroughs already had power to carry

out! These new authorities were, too, in a large number of cases composed of the identical members which the electors send to their county and borough councils! The Minister of Internal Affairs had stated that he was convinced that amalgamations would be the means of reducing expense and ' he thought they must agree with him when they considered that these extra local bodies were costing the people of New Zealand nearly three-quarters of a million pounds annually in administration alone. Their total expenditure was nearly seven and a-half million pounds annually. ! Parasite Authorities ! Mr Austin said that the danger from 1 their point of view was going to come from the activities of certain of these parasite local authorities. Movements were on foot in his district to bring about amalgamations among themselves in which case they could have the ridiculous position of ratepayers having to pay accounts in six different places and it would be possible to have six types of authority with power to open up roadways. This was an extreme instance but, in their own case, should certain suggestions be adopted by the Government, the town would be | controlled from Wanganui, Hawera and | New Plymouth as well as from Patea itself. His Council considered that the ideal solution was to get back to the original system—true “local” gov-, ernment and to have all the activities in a town controlled by one body in that town. ! Mr G. Dash (Waimate): Does this include Hospital Boards, Harbour Boards, and Power Boards? Voices: Yes, Mr Dash. (Laughter.) The president (Mr T. Jordan): Yes. He includes them all in the term parasites. Is there a seconder to the motion ? A delegate said that he considered it a waste of time discussing the remit before they had the survey which the Minister had indicated he was going to carry out. The remit was lost.