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Story: Local and regional government

Local Government Bill 1912

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Local Government Bill 1912

This article from the Ashburton Guardian indicates the widespread opposition at local level to the Local Government Bill 1912, which aimed to simplify local government. The article quotes Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board chair J. H. Walker, who believed the bill would give local authorities such as his board 'very little representation and add very much to their liabilities'. Many local authorities in other regions felt similarly, and the bill was defeated in Parliament.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past

Reference: Ashburton Guardian, 15 May 1912, p. 7.

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Local and regional government – Local authorities multiply, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/35380/local-government-bill-1912 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 28 March 2012, updated 1 February 2015.