LOCAL-BODY MERGERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 100, 14 May 1937, Page 14

LOCAL-BODY MERGERS

Minister F ormulating Plan for Counties Duririg the past month or two the Minister of Internal Affairs has been visiting different foealities throughout the Dominion, and explaining his proposed amalgamation sehemes for these localities. The New Zealand Counties' Assoeiation has felt that the local bodies in those localities have been handicapped when meeting the Minister through not knowing beforehand what his proposals were. Consequently the a.ssociation asked the Minister to make his proposals covering the whole Dominion available at the earliest opportuiiity. \ o In reply the Minister stated that at the presSnt time he was engaged in f ormulating tentative proposals for the amalgamation of counties in the Dominion. It was on that account that he was holding discussions with certaiu county councils, ahd the information he was gaining from these discussions" was proving very valuable in the formulation of the tentative proposals. The Work was not yet finished, hut when it Was finished he iutended to release the proposals as a basis for diseussion by the different groups of local authorities affected. Under those circumstances, since the tentative proposals had not yet been finally prepared, he was afraid it was premature to inake them known to the executive o'f the assoeiation, but he would keep the request ini mind- for f urfcher action latar OJ3-. i /