It was so refreshing to hear a consultant (whose name escapes me now) suggesting recently how pointless it was that a country of a bit over 4 million people needed so many District Health Boards. He was advocating drastic reduction in the numbers of DHBs and wanted to reduce their roles to advisory rather than managerial.
All his arguments about communication, uniformity of stands and economies and so on were precisely the arguments I would use in reducing the numbers and the role of local government bodies around the country. We have far too much government, too much waste, and too much inconsistency from district to district.
Ban the lot, I say.
All his arguments about communication, uniformity of stands and economies and so on were precisely the arguments I would use in reducing the numbers and the role of local government bodies around the country. We have far too much government, too much waste, and too much inconsistency from district to district.
Ban the lot, I say.
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I hear what you are saying and to a degree have to agree. What are you going to replace it with?
ReplyDeleteThames Hospital during the 50's to1980 was run by a group of elected local people, and wonder of wonders it was run without going into debt. It actually had a future development fund.(which disappeared when central government messed it all up.
I sure hope that our Super City works out as forecast ? ?
Farmercorby.
Yeah, well, I think that the national administration can run water, sewerage, roading and other council stuff just as well as district councils and probably more consistently.
ReplyDeleteOf course local people can do some things much better than a district and even a national administration but I don't think we would want to set up Town Police in every community, and have totally local standards for education and so on. We recognise that in a country of our size we don't want these things to be matters of local politics. I think that the primary functions of district councils are in the same category and could be just as easily managed nationally.
But my structure would enhance the responsibility of elected local community bodies (such as the Thames Hospital Board in 1961, I guess!) that are real communities not vast districts with anything up to twenty discreet communities in them. I think the best feature of the Super City is the 22 community boards. The rest can go to Wellington as far as I am concerned. After all, Wellington put it in place!
I guess I'd like just to hear if there are some significant functions that cannot possibly be done by any group except the present district councils. If there aren’t, then they are a useless anachronism in a country of our size.