Creating super regional councils is a mistake, according to local resource management consultant Owen McShane.
He was commenting on Local Government Minister Nick Smith’s latest proposals for amalgamation of various councils around the country.
“The end result is a local authority considerably larger than the one whose problems have proved too big to deal with,” Mr McShane said.
Dysfunctional councils were largely the result of the last round of amalgamations in 1989, he said.
Mr Smith’s latest targets involve amalgamation of the unitary councils of Tasman and Nelson into a single council, and Kaipara District Council and Far North.
“This bias is understandable; Mr Smith is an engineer, and he instinctively focuses on the efficiency of regional services which do enjoy the benefits of scale,” Mr McShane said.
“But democracy enjoys no benefits of scale. Small local councils can be effectively governed by local citizens and managed by local staff and consultants who actually know their people and territory.”
Mr McShane highlighted Switzerland where the district council has 2000 people and the average canton (region) has 135,000 people.
And Switzerland is one of the most successful economies in the world, he said.
Chris Hutching for NBR NZ Property Investor
Mon, 05 Mar 2012
Mon, 05 Mar 2012
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Own McShane attacks Nick Smith's super regional council plan
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