HOSPITAL MERGER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 24, 16 November 1945, Page 5

HOSPITAL MERGER

FURTHER CONFERENCE PLANNED BOROUGH COUNCIL'S ATTITUDE At the invitation of the County Council the Borough Council has decided to attend a further conference for the purpose of discussing the question of merging the Whakatane Hospital District with the adjoining one of Waikato. Borough iin the course of the discussion on the subject last de- • dared themselves more in fav-. • our of awaiting the outcome of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select which hag now been released for Government action. I The Mayor said that he consid-j ered, in view of the Select Committee's, that it would be j dangerous to follow up the question of amalgamation until the Govern-1 menL's policy had been defined. He read extracts, which indicated that! the rate in future should be pegged at the average figure between the years 1935/3G and 1938/39. On this itasis Whakatane would be expected •to pay . 297 din the pound, which would be equivalent'to £801 annually with a rising increase as the population and capital value of the Borough expanded. Again. he did not know whether 1 the Waikato Board was willing to agree to the proposal, but he noted that therein .commendations of the committee indicated that the six North Auckland .Hospital Boards should be amalgamated into one. It was obvious, that there would be a trend towards and in this, lay the County's best argument. "Unless we linked with Waikato .there was the possibility of being forced into an amalgamation with Tauranga, and Opoti'ki, and Rotorua each of which carried a heavy 3laori population.

Cr Canning said he could not understand why the Countv Council liad set it.s face against• the invita-' tion to the Hospital Board in the initial stages ol' conferring. It was most necessary to have all parties united and he. was certain < that the Board Chairman wpuld have been sympathetic and lair in his attitude and advice. He was supported by Cr Creeke f who deplored the fact that the lirst conference had been ■without the benefit of Hospital ■Board knowledge and experience.

Cr Sullivan, declared that if the recommendations oi the Select Committee were given effect to, he did not think a local body in New Zealand would object. Tlie Count} Council did not appear to be really lighting the issue that it should. He. .suggested that a more worthy agitation would be in the direction of having more money spent on the roads from petrol tax resei\es t instead oi' being diverted to otiier departments. The County should light the question oi Hospital rating but he did not think it had a great deal of hope of getting in on the ground oor. From the population returns, this town and County would be substantially increased in the next ten years and a hospital would probably be a tremendous asset 4 when administered and financed by the district itself. He quoted the County's request to the. Board for an indication of the levy five years hence, as an utter and did not think the Council should commit itself until such time as the j Government considered the recommendations . The Council agreed to meet the County representatives for the purpose of discussing the question at some date early in December, when the question of Government policy, would in all probability have been and to request the County 'Council to invite the Hospital Board Chairman to be present also.