03 April 2004
By DARYL McINTOSH
All Manukau bylaws should be scrapped, a city councillor says.
Manukau City councillor Neil Morrison wants the council to abolish its 27 bylaws and wait a year to see if any of them are actually needed.
"A lot of them are warm fuzzies and just make the politicians feel good.
"You can pass a truckload of bylaws and it won't make a difference," Mr Morrison says.
The council doesn't enforce a lot of its bylaws, he says. People still wash car windows at traffic lights despite a bylaw banning it in 1996.
The Local Government Act 2002 requires Manukau City Council to review all bylaws by June 2008 to see if they are the best way of dealing with a problem.
Although the process will cost $450,000, it has to be done because bylaws not reviewed won't have any power after June 2010.
Councillor Barry Keon says the amount of money being spent is crazy.
"If it ain't broke, why fix it?" Mr Keon says.
There must be ways of saving money during the review process, he says.
Manukau City special projects senior planner Maximus Smitheran says most of the council's bylaws serve their purpose.
However, the law requires a review otherwise they won't exist after 2010, Mr Smitheran says.
The council will review similar bylaws at the same time so only one special consultation period is needed each year, he says.
The bylaw review will be spread over three years.
By DARYL McINTOSH
All Manukau bylaws should be scrapped, a city councillor says.
Manukau City councillor Neil Morrison wants the council to abolish its 27 bylaws and wait a year to see if any of them are actually needed.
"A lot of them are warm fuzzies and just make the politicians feel good.
"You can pass a truckload of bylaws and it won't make a difference," Mr Morrison says.
The council doesn't enforce a lot of its bylaws, he says. People still wash car windows at traffic lights despite a bylaw banning it in 1996.
The Local Government Act 2002 requires Manukau City Council to review all bylaws by June 2008 to see if they are the best way of dealing with a problem.
Although the process will cost $450,000, it has to be done because bylaws not reviewed won't have any power after June 2010.
Councillor Barry Keon says the amount of money being spent is crazy.
"If it ain't broke, why fix it?" Mr Keon says.
There must be ways of saving money during the review process, he says.
Manukau City special projects senior planner Maximus Smitheran says most of the council's bylaws serve their purpose.
However, the law requires a review otherwise they won't exist after 2010, Mr Smitheran says.
The council will review similar bylaws at the same time so only one special consultation period is needed each year, he says.
The bylaw review will be spread over three years.