Public meeting on Waiouru's future

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 275, 21 February 1989, Page 5

Public meeting on Waiouru's future

A public meeting is to be held in the Waiouru Community Centre on Monday February 27 1989 at 7.30 pm to discuss local Government reform as it effects Waiouru.

The meeting has been called by the Waiouru Community advisory Council (WCAC). To help spur discussion at the meeting a letter backgrounding local government reform and highlighting the issues

for Waiouru people is being distributed to all residents in the greater Waiouru area. Chairman of the WCAC, Colonel Bret Bestic, said the current restructuring of local Government within New Zealand provided a

unique opportunity for Waiouru residents to identify what form of local Government they prefer for Waiouru and have some say before the final decisions were made. He said that Waiouru would always be a town with a transient population and therefore it was important that both those here temporarily and those living here permanently had their say. Colonel Bestic noted that for many years local government has not been an issue to Waiouru residents except perhaps for a few people who live on the Main Road. The military has provided most services and generally looked after the interests of the community whereas local government's role has generally limited its involvement to the Main Road area. The only form of community local government has

been the Waiouru Community Advisory Council which has no statutory authority and was originally intended to be a means of communication between the Commander and the community. However the situation is now changing. The political and economic climate in which the Army functions has changed markedly with the emphasis on user pays, devolution of responsibilities and more accountability. Inevitably this will lead to a change in relationship between the military, local government and the community, says Colonel Bestic. There will be an interesting emphasis on the community becoming less dependent on the military and Defence as a ratepayer becoming more assertive in seeking value for money

for its rates and in addition there is now a strong feeling that people should have more control over their community and the way money is spent, he adds. The Local Government Commission proposal that Waiouru be a separate ward within the new Ruapehu District goes some way towards developing some local Government for Waiouru, however many issues such as boundaries, representation, responsibilities of the ward committees and the relationship between the Army and the new local Government organisation need discussing and resolving, says Colonel Bestic. Colonel Bestic urges all Waiouru residents to attend the meeting which will include representatives from Waimarino and Rangitikei.