LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 279, 22 May 1912, Page 8

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL

THE CONFERENCE. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Tuesday. The conference of delegates of local bodies' to consider the Local Government Bill opened this morning. There were 02 delegates present. The Hon. G .W. Russell presided, and the Prime 'Minister and Messrs. Myers, Laurenson, MacDonald, Ell and Buxton were also pre. sent. The Prime Minister, in welcoming the delegates, said that the Government hoped to obtain the constructive assistance of the conference. He hoped the .matter would not be approached in a ! party spirit. The Government was setting up a commission to enquire into the educational system, and he would not say anything in this connection until that commission's report was available. IHe himself was not in favor of eduea--1 tion being placed in the hands of Pro•vinci.il Councils. He concluded by sayling that the Government would enj deavor to put into law the decision of 1 the conference. The conference decided to allow each delegate five minutes. | The chairman, the Hon. G. W. Rus-. sell, suggested an executive of ten members, and the conference was then divided into eight committees, as follows: — (l) 1 Local bodies. (2) Abolition of road boards. (3) Subsidies and grants. (4) Provincial councils. (5) Functions and powers of county councils. (0) Relations of local bodies to Parliament and Government. (7) Municipal. (8) Rating powers. Each of these committees will report jto the conference on Thursday, and will ' make general recommendations.' DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER. Wellington, Tuesday. Delegates representing the conference of education boards waited on the Minister of Education to-day, and placed before him the resolutions passed by the conference. Mr. Hanan said a statement would he made by the (Minister in charge of the Local Government Bill to the effect that an inquiry was about to he set up dealing with the cost of education both primary, manual and technical. He hoped that the great question of national education would always be kept above party or faction.

SPEECH BY ME. RUSSELL. Wellington, Tuesday. The Hon. G. W. Russell delivered a lengthy speech. He said that for years there had been an outcry for reform, and: there was room for* simplification and economies. The boards were overlapping one another. The number of the staffs in counties had increased by 21 I in five years, and some of these were 'merely glorified road boards. The essentials of sound local government were —(1) Simplicity in form and method; (2) efficiency; (3) economy; (4) sound and assured finance; (5) capacity for promoting local development; (6) power of grouping contiguous districts for common purposes. Including school committees there were 3877 local bodies for a million people. Their revenue was £3,651,112, or with loans and Government grants £5,428,070. The expenditure was £5,138,976. He indicated directions in which he thought the Bill should be amended, saying that the Bill was not intended as the last word on local government, but as a basis for a discussion of the whole question, r Mr. Jull, Hawke's Bay, chairman of the Counties Association, thanked the Minister for his address, and 1 moved that in the opinion of the conference some measure of local government reform was desirable. This was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Russell for the care he .had given to the Bill. In reply, Mr. Russell said that he appreciated the huge task and mentioned that Mr. Seddon had once taken the matter in hand, but had had to lay it down. • '\ti-i THE BILL DISCUSSED. Wellington, Last Night. The conference, on resuming at 2 p.m., proceeded to discuss the Bill. Mr. Lee, Wellington, said that there was a good deal in the Bill that deserved consideration. There was certainly much food for reflection in the part dealing with education. He was satisfied that * good deal of money could be saved by merging many of the smaller boards. Mr. C. J. Parr, Auckland, said that there was no demand for such a Bill so far as the large cities were concerned. , They objected to be incorporated into i large provinces. They objected to a provincial rate which may be expended forty i or fifty miles away. A fair cardinal matter to solve was that of overlapping. i Mr. Garland, Auckland, said that asf sured finance had been mentioned by the , Minister, but there was no provision for s it in the Bill. He suggested that the : land and income tax should be set apart I by the Government for that purpose. ! Mr. A. E. Jull, Hawke's Bay, said that the principle they were seeking was i'den- • tical with that which the County Association had been seeking for years. They ! had found that what they wanted was i the abolition of dual control. 'The quesI tion of franchise .had to be faced. Cities had practically a parliamentary franchise, but in the country the position existing enabled one section to dominate the electors to harbor boards and other bodies. He suggested, a residential and property franchise, the cities to work j under a similar franchise. Mr. J. Bailey, Waikato, said that if [ the Government sought to abolish local j bodies the local bodies would abolish the Government. | Mr. E. Li niton, Wanganui, thought that the Bill was too revolutionary. [ Mr. A. Moore, Kaiapoi, objected to the Bill, as it tended to take power out of the hands of those elected by the people and place it in the hands of the Minister. He opposed the policy of education under provincial councils, or other bodies who have to do with the administration of roads and bridges. Mr. Moore held that the cost would be increased, and adminis-

tration would 'be increased and would be I iess satisfactory. Mr. Knssell at this juncture said that .' Mr. Moore had said that the desire I underlyin." ''"" Pil! wns to abolish thu ! jiresent nysunii of education. "I ask I you," .lie said, ''whellici'. in view of the statement made by the Prime Minister this morning, if that is a fair observation to put on record and have circulated throughout the country? —(Members:'. No.) —As far as the Bill is concerned { might point out that it did not emanate from the present Government. It has been placed before you as the basis of discussion. I do not think it right for any delegate to put the matter before, you in the way Mr. Moore has done." Mr. J. (i. Wilson thought that there was not very much .wrong with the present local government laws. They certainly might merge smaller bodies with advantage. In his opinion, the time had not arrived for the establishment of provincial councils. Mr. Schofield, Auckland, said, with re- , gard to lessening the, cost of local govern- ] went, that lie thought the Minister ' could not reduce the cost of hospitals below the present figure. Mr. 'McLaren. Wellington, thought that the powers delegated to local govern merit boards under the Bill would he too, great, "Mr. F. W. Venn, Wellington, offered a suggestion that aspirants for Parliamentary honors should serve four years on a city, borough or county council before standing. Mr. Dalziel, North 'Canterbury, thought that primary education should be the first charge on the revenue of the country. Mr. J. Nash, Palmerston, wondered whether the Government was afraid to grapple with the subject. He thought provincial councils were quite unnecessary things. They were going on very well at present, with a few exceptions. Mr. P. Horrell, North Canterbury, considered that the discussion had been in the direction of indicating that the Bill conduced neither to economy, efficiency nor good government. Personally, he thought that many small boards in his own district could very well be abolished —not because expenses were so large, but because unnecessary work was created. Mr. J. Wilson, Dunedin, suggested that the town planning should be gone in for from three to six miles round. Mr. C. Harley, Nelson, urged that counties should be reduced by twothirds. He would bring them down to forty or fifty. Mr. W. Muslin, South Canterbury, agreed with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Harley as far as the educational clause was concerned. The Bill was a single tax one, worthy of that apostle of the new evangel, Mr. Fowlds. It was of a confiscatory character, and would impede land values to the extent of 50 per cent. I The conference adjourned at 5.45 p.m. I till 10 a.m. to-morrow.