TOO MANY LOCAL BODIES.

Shannon News, 29 October 1924, Page 3

TOO MANY LOCAL BODIES.

i EXPENDITURE WANTS CONTROLL- | ING. I LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD „ • , SUGGESTED. WELLINGTON, Last Night. “In last year's statement,” said Hon. J. G. Coates, in concluding his Public Works Statesienl in the House last night, “I drew attention to the necessity of .endeavouring - to co-

ordinate the expenditure on various transport-ways in order that, after allowing for ritain-trunk transportways. both railway and road, all other transport-ways should be complementary to one another and all leading to support the most economical and efficient, instead of, as is too often the case, competing with one another. .My observations on this subject were made in the hope that it would receive the thought and consideration of those concerned. Such a state of affairs a;- exists now is perhaps the inevitable result of the driving energy of a people whose efforts have'brought about a rate of development which) I ; believe, has never been equalled in any other country. The multiplicity of local governing bodies is another factor which has contributed' in marked degree. It is easy to be wise after the event. It is not so easy to discover the remedy,

but it is never too soon to endeavour to do so.

“As a premise to consideration ot the subject it must be realised that the country’s- pub.ic indebtedness is not merely the public debt of the Government, but lhat debt plus the debt of every local body in New Zealand. For every pound of such debt the people must pay in one way or another. <

While there ex’st so many authorities vested with borrowing and expending powers t is practically impossible to control the position or co-ordinate the result of such expenditure.’! ~ “It is true that local body loans must have the sanction; of the ratepayers, and that the ratepayers’ land is held as security for loan charges. While I do not for one moment suggest that ratepayers’ consent should be eliminated, I do assert that the ratepayers’ vote is a poor and unsatisfactory system of contrph T( is common knowledge,that a great .many loans—l venture to say, a majorityare carried not only by a minority of the ratepayers, but that the total of votes polled for and against the proposal is a minority of the total number of ratepayers concerned. Too often proposals to raise large sums of money are put forward without any real investigation as to the general economic result of the ‘expenditure and its real advantage to the district concerned. Not infrequently expenditure “schemes” —and I use the word advisedly—are put forward by enthusiastic “boosters” who entirely mislead the people, who will have to pay iri the long- run. It is usually asserted that, so long as ratepayers are prepared to tax their land, the scheme must be sound, and. in any case it is the ratepayers* concern. Jt is the ratepayers' concern if those who vote for the loan stay to pay its charges. I have little hesitation in saying that these works are often commenced to give an inflated prospective value to lands, winch, having been created temporarily, the promotors sell out at enhanced value .and leave some one else to carry the burden. "Unless there be some means of comprehensive survey and regulation of total public indebtedness to considerations of population, land values, productiveness, and average value of products, t,he position will remain unsatisfactory and may even become one of grave concern. I do not suggest that such a position has been reached, oi anything approaching it, but I do suggest that it is better to plan now some method of control which will obviate suc.li a possibility than to bewail when it is too late. I have sufficient knowledge of the wealth with which nature has endowed this country and faith in its people and their resource to believe that it can bear with comfort a considerably greater indebtedness; but the money must be spent wisely oh a plan which has had the most careful consideration of the factors I have .mentioned, and which fits in' with a comprehensive scheme oi development work. What we cannot afford is piecemeal, ill-consider-ed expenditure dictated by local ambitions and without reference to what work is being planned or under way in the next 'watertight compartment. “The Main Highways Act is the first direct legislative step in the direction I have indicated. Instead of each county working Independently, the District Highways Council considers loading from the point of view of best serving the interests of a niim-. ber of grouped counties, while the Highways Board is enabled to coordinate the work of groups. “I have great hopes, when once this scheme is in full operatio’n, and its benefits realised, that it will result in amalgamation <jf many counties, even, perhaps, to the extent of amalgamation of all counties within the various groups. By this means it will be possible to vastly improve the standard of staff efficiency a’nd organisation, and that must surely result in better and cheaper work on a more comprehensive plan.

“I believe it to be an urgent measure of local-government reform that we should reduce the total number or local governing bodies which exist within on e another’s boudaries, overlap, and 1 to a considerable extent duplicate one anotner’s work. As an indication of this necessity I have but to point to the fact we have one hundred .and eighteen Boroughs and Cities, seventy-one Town Boards, one hundred and twenty-nine Counties, thirty-fiv e Hoad Boards, fifty-nine Drainage Boards and forty-nine River Boards, ail with their separate staffs, plant, and overhead charges. “It is obvious that a very considera-