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H—2B

representations from the Wellington Regional Planning Council, to include all three latter localities in the scope of the inquiry. The John son ville Town District and certain adjoining areas were also included by the Commission within the scope of the inquiry. The issues involved in the local government of these areas may be generally stated to be whether any one of these areas to which reference has been made, either together or separately, should be governed by an urban form of local government, or whether one or more of these areas, with the Town District of Johnsonville, should be included in the City of Wellington, and, in the latter event, whether any portion of the Hutt Valley Electric-power District should be excluded therefrom and included in the Wellington City's area of supply. There was no doubt as to the necessity for an urgent decision as to the future local government in certain of the areas to which reference has been made, first on account of the rapid private residential development which was taking place in some of the localities, and secondly on account of the large-scale State development works which were being undertaken in the Porirua Basin. These latter developments involved extensive State housing construction in the Porirua and Titahi Bay localities, stormwater drainage in the Porirua Township, the co-ordination of the major Hutt River water-supply scheme with the Porirua Basin, a comprehensively planned sewerage system for the area in the Porirua Basin, with adequate capacity to provide, if necessary, for the areas generally to the north of Porirua, the reclamation of portion of the Porirua Harbour at its southern extremity, and major realignment and extension of railways and highways. There were also proposals for the purchase by the Government of additional areas for educational, hospital, recreational, and industrial purposes, and also for the provision of a town centre. The Commissioner of Works had indicated that the existing form of control was unsatisfactory. The extent of the State development envisaged raised most difficult issues, and it was apparent that there was likely to be considerable diversity of opinion as to the most suitable form of local government for the Porirua Basin area. From the regional point of view there was a further problem involved relating to the availability of additional areas for recreational and industrial purposes to provide for the needs of the present and future population of the Wellington metropolitan area. Our investigations were then directed to a large extent by the nature of the interests in the various localities. For instance, in the Tawa Flat - Linden areas, substantial private development had taken place and was progressing rapidly, and it was evident to us that this would continue. In the Porirua and Titahi Bay areas the Crown had acquired considerable areas, and a good deal of the future development in these localities was dependent to a large degree on the operations of the Government. In the localities farther north—Paremata, Plimmerton, and Pahautanui—-although development was proceeding which would necessitate careful planning and localgovernment control, there was not the same urgent necessity for reorganization. In so far as the Johnson ville Town District was concerned, this had in recent years been extensively developed through the Government's State housing activities, and private residential building was also taking place both in Johnson ville and in the adjoining county areas of Hawtrey, Raroa, and portions of Paparangi and Newlands. Following preliminary investigations, an inquiry was opened on the 24th May, 1948, but an application was immediately made by the Wellington City Council, supported by the Ministry of Works, the Wellington Regional Planning Council, and certain other parties, for an adjournment. The representatives of the Combined Progressive and Ratepayers' Associations of Tawa Flat, Linden, and Titahi Bay opposed the application. The various parties who supported the adjournment desired sufficient time in which to prepare and co-ordinate certain factual data to provide the Commission with the fullest possible information. The Progressive Associations, on the other hand, desired that urgent attention should be given to the future local government of the localities in which they were particularly interested, owing to the rapid urbanization