Holland-Cole Urges Government to Give Councils More Resources
Holland-Cole Western Area Rural District Council Chairman Kasho Holland-Cole has called on the government to give local councils greater access to resources, including land, so they can carry out their responsibilities.
Holland-Cole made the remarks Thursday during an interview on the Ecko Morning Show, hosted by Ecko Media.
“If the policies are good, use them,” Holland-Cole said, urging the government to allow elected councils to operate and provide services to their communities.
He said the council had requested land for a market in the Waterloo area and space for waste-management facilities. According to Holland-Cole, councils should receive the land needed to establish those services.
He said the council was not opposed to other groups receiving access to land for development, but questioned why councils should face difficulties when seeking land for public services.
Holland-Cole also addressed the government’s restructuring of local councils and said he was concerned about the effect of dividing existing council areas on their ability to generate revenue and maintain services.
He argued that creating smaller councils could leave individual councils with fewer revenue sources while retaining responsibilities such as paying staff and providing roads, markets, health facilities and other services.
Holland-Cole said the Western Area Rural District Council employs nearly 300 junior staff, whom he said the council pays.
He also claimed that the national government had not provided the council with its expected funding since 2018, while the council had continued generating its own revenue. That claim was made by Holland-Cole during the interview and was not independently verified for this report.
The chairman further argued that councils need adequate funding before new administrative boundaries are introduced.
His comments came during a discussion that also touched on proposed changes to the structure of local councils and their implications for communities.
Holland-Cole said his priority was improving people’s livelihoods and called for greater attention to issues such as inflation and local service delivery.
He also urged the government to allow councils to work and provide them with the resources required to meet their responsibilities. The remarks were made during Holland-Cole’s Oct. 8 interview with Ecko Media.