Editorial
Mud in Mangapapa

When the rains came last month, worst off of all Gisborne residents were those in new State Houses in the Mangapapa block, where the "roads" were ill-prepared to cope with more than a passing shower.

Complaints in Mangapapa sparked a public growl about road maintenance generally in Gisborne city. Most macadam roads were in a poor state of health, lacking metal and attention, and even some of the sealed roads were breaking up.

From complaints about roads, the tide of criticism grew to embrace the whole works programme of the City Council. The result was a special "inquest" meeting of the council, at which a good deal of steam was let off.

Gisborne, of course, is not the only city, borough, or county in New Zealand which is finding it difficult, if not impossible, to resolve problems of inadequate finance, increasing burdens, lack of staff and equipment, and public indifference. If any reader of "Photo News" is more interested in this subject than in looking at the pictures, this is what we think about it:

We think that the present system of local government in New Zealand requires the most serious consideration at the highest Levels.

We think most ratepayers are gravely dissatisfied with the results they get from their local bodies, and we think this is responsible for such an alarming symptom as the failure, in some towns, to get sufficient nominations to fill council vacancies except by press-gang methods.

We think that local bodies require a big increase in revenue to match their increasing burdens and responsibilities, and that they require a more effective administration system to get the best use from such revenue.

There will be no simple cures for such deep-seated ills, but remedies might well lie in two main changes:

(1) A larger share of national revenues for local government.

(2) A re-arrangement of the established relationship between councils and their professional administrators. The town clerk is the key man in local body administration, but, if he is an able man, his position has grown today into one of very great difficulty. We think he should have the status, pay, and ability of the general manager of any large concern, with his councillors providing only broad direction in the ratepayers' interests.

This system has been proved to get results in big business. In most respects, except results, local bodies have long since left the realm of parish politics and entered the realm of big business.