Survival first issue for council

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 236, 22 March 1988, Page 1

Survival first issue for council

The first task of the newly elected Waimarino District Council will be to discuss its own survival as an authority.

At the Waimarino District Council steering committee meeting held Tuesday March 8 District Manager John Murrihy presented a recommendation on the recently released Dis-

cussion Document on the reform of Local and Regional Government. "It is quite apparent that the government wants to control all local authorities," said Mr Murrihy. He suggested

that government wants a level of government between local and central, which he called 'regional government'. He said it was apparent to him that t h e government had already

determined its major policy reforms. He called for the steering committee to give him a direction the District Council would take so that he could formulate a submission. April 8 is the last date for submissions. He said these regional councils may turn out to be about the size of a united council. "They would be responsible for health services, education services, social welfare services, housing corporation services," said Mr Murrihy. "I think that what you people that are going to be on the District Council have to take from this is that it's unlikely that small units of local government are going to last for very long," said Cr Taylor. Ad hoc authority "Mr Elwood's comments to me in January were that they weren't really looking at the local body situation, it's more the ad hoc authorities that they were looking at," said Cr Heinold. Cr Taylor expressed disagreement with this view. "I certainly think that there is an even chance that the Waimarino District Council will be altered by 1989," said Cr Taylor. "I think the super area, the Taranaki, perhaps Hawkes Bay Horo whenua and Wanganui Region will definitely be an entity and that the units of local government within that will be like our existing united council," he said. Cr Taylor then said he thought the steering committee had enough on it's plate without looking at the future form of local government. "We ought to make some sort of submission," said Cr Workman. "Perhaps this is a very good case for getting the newly elected District Council together very rapidly after the 19th of March to adTurntop.5

Survival of council

From p. 1 dress this one issue," said Cr Taylor. "I would agree with that," said Cr Workman. "I would think that we should put up a case to support the retention of local authorities as we know them," said Cr Bennett, "If we don't put in some submission it will be taken that we approve of the regional development council submission." Cr Taylor moved and Cr Workman seconded that the newly elected members of the Waimarino District Council be called together as soon as possible after March 20 to address the question of submissions on the reform of local and regional government. Mr Murrihy told the

meeting that Mr Elwood had been to Southland and told a large group of local authorities that they were being formed into one council and that he was due to do the same in in several places in the North Island. "The government is detcrmined that we're going to have regions," said Mr Murrihy. "I would suggest that we face up to the issue and that we make submission on it ... in such a way that the people of this district (get) the best that it can hope to out of the government." "I think our chances in the Wanganui United Council region are so minimal because of the absolute nil effect of the Wanganui United Council since it's in-

ception," Cr Taylor."All I can say is I told you so." The motion was then put to the meeting and was carried.