LOCAL BODIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 August 1938, Page 6

LOCAL BODIES

THE AMALGAMATION BILL EVIDENCE OF COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ADVOCATED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The Local Government (Amalgamation Schemes) Bill did not completely visualise the intricacies of the proposed change-over, because it had been formulated “off the map,” stated the New Zealand Counties’ Association in its evidence yesterday to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Bill. A certain amount of amalgamation could be carried out with advantage to the Dominion, but not amalgamation to the wide extent suggested by the Bill. No plan of amalgamation, it submitted, should be formulated until an impartial commission had made a complete investigation into the numerous anomalies existing in local government and into the implications of interwoven State activities, and had provided solutions.

The association’s-evidence was submitted by the president, Mr C. J. Talbot, who had with him a past president, Mr A. E. Jull, and the secretary Colonel J. Pow. Also present, representing the Taranaki Local Bodies' Association, were Messrs J. B. Murdoch, S. Vickers and W. A. Sheat. Mr D. W. Coleman (Government, Gisborne) presided. Other members of the committee present were: The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry; the Hon. W. E. Barnard (Government, Napier); Messrs W. T. Anderton (Government, Eden); C. M. Williams (Government, Kaiapoi); J. W. Munro (Government, Dunedin North); H. G. Dickie (Opposition, Patea). CONTROL OF HIGHWAYS. ATTACK ON THE COUNTY SYSTEM. “This latest addition to county council reform is regarded as a violent attack on the county system of government, and the substitution for it of centralised bureaucratic control,” the Counties’ Association stated, referring to the taking over by the State of main highways. Section 4 of the Main Highways Amendment Act, 1936, gave the Main Highways Board power to classify any main highway, or portion of main highway, as a State highway, provided the Minister of Public Works gave his approval. So far about 4000 miles of the most important main highways had been declared State highways. As the result of this dual control many icounty councils, had lost the backbone of their roading system, which to most had cost thousands of pounds to lay down. No compensation or assumption of loan liabilities by the State had been mooted. In addition dual control had resulted in increased costs, because of duplication of staff, plant and machinery and waste of time.

A considerable amount of wastage occurred through men and plant having to travel over long lengths of State highways to do work on county roads. Formerly maintenance work on the highways was done en route to the outlying county roads. In some counties the travelling time from the centre to outlying by-roads was astonishing, sometimes totalling two hours each way; leaving only four hours in which to operate costly roading machinery. “County authorities,” said the association, “are at the moment bewildered by what appear to be conflicting policies regarding local government. On the one hand the Minister of Internal Affairs has been urging and encouraging counties to amalgamate to ensure, as he thinks, greater efficiency and economy to build stronger units of local government, while the Minister of Public Works in his Highways Amendment Act has provided legislation that must result in less efficiency and ultimately in the complete disintegration of counties.” POLICY DISCUSSED. DENIAL OF DICTATORIAL ACTION. Referring to the Counties’ Association’s request for a commission, Mr Williams said that the Bill provided for a commission to inquire into each proposed local amalgamation. The representatives of the association expressed the opinion that a Royal Commission should first be set up to consider on a Dominion-wide basis the broad principles of local government. Asked why the association feared a dictatorship, Mr Talbot said that there were still counties which considered that the Minister had powers of compulsion under the Bill. Mr Parry: “No.” Mr Coleman: “No more than at present.” “I have been accused of using the ‘big stick’ in this Bill and I would like to know where,” said Mr Parry. There were more kinds of dictatorship than one, said Mr Talbot. If counties were made too large there would be a tendency to local bureaucracy. The whole Bill had been planned with the idea of overcoming the intricacies, for alleged failure to visualise which he had been brought to book, Mr Parry said. “There is no desire on my side to brush the counties on one side; nothing is in my mind but to help to do this job, which we all think should be done,” he continued. The only thing they differed in was the best way to go about it. “The foundation of our local government today is being sapped,” said Mr Juil, “and it is necessary to have a commission to say whether we shall haVe local goverhmefit at all,’ or whe-

ther we shall be at the behest of a dictator —for the Minister of Public Works has power, without any Parliamentary authority, to take over the whole main highways system of the country.” The taking over of 4000 miles of main highways already was cutting the backbone out of the roading system of the counties; ultimately they might be like a multitude of jelly-fish. Mr Parry said that the Minister had power over State highways just as the Minister of Railways had power over railways. Mr Jull: “The Minister of Railways cannot build new railways without Parliamentary authority.” “It is piffling to deal with amalgamation of local bodies when the whole functions of local government are in the /helting-pot,” he continued. Mr Parry: “Why ‘piffling?’ ” Mr Jull: “Perhaps it is a word I should not have used; say ‘trifling’ in comparison with the much broader question.” The representatives of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association stressed the extensive supervision of roads necessary in their counties, because of heavy dairy traffic. The Minister congratulated Taranaki on the work it was doing in the amalgamation of harbour boards. The committee adjourned till next Tuesday.