HOSPITAL BOARD APPOINTMENTS AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Grey River Argus, 24 November 1948, Page 2

HOSPITAL BOARD APPOINTMENTS AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT

P.A. WELLINGTON, November 23. When the House of Representatives resumed to-day, Hon. Miss M. Howard moved the second reading of the Hospitals Amendment Bill. She said that it provided for the amalgamation or various Hospital Boards, and for the appointment of Committees of Management in the amalgamated districts. The Bill also gave the Minister power’ to supervise the appointments of senior officers made by the Hospital Boards. There had been, in the past, cases where Boards had made mistakes in such appointments. Mr E. P. Aiderman (Nat., New Plymouth) said that the Opposition concurred with most of the clauses in the Bill. It objected to the Minister seeking to take any power to appoint away from Boards. It was not a sound argument, he contended, to say that the Minister should have any such power, because tbe Government provided most of the money for the hospital expenditure. Money was taken from people who should have some say in its use. If the Ministe: were Riven the power she asked, tnei e would, he asserted, be atrociously more mistakes made by ths HeaJtn Department than by Hospital Boards, as wel’ *s mo>-e delays. There was a possibility of log-rolling so far as appointments were concerned. Hon Miss Howard, replying to the debate, said that the clause giving the Minister supervisory powers over appointments expressed the policy ol the Government, and therefore thr Opposition could not be expected to agree with it. Miss Howard replied to comments that had been made about the deletion of the word "charitable” from hospital titles. She said that there would be no alteration in the emergency relief now given by Hospital Boards. LOG-ROLLING PREVENTED

Miss Howard said the senior appointments by the Boards were, in actual fact, already being referred the Minister, and there would be no greater delay. Within the last few days, added the Minister, there had been an appointment which involved, _ not political log-rolling, but log-rolling of the other kind —and it-did not come off! Mr E. Corbett (Nat.. Egmont); They were not the right political colour. x .. Mr J. Watts (Nat., St. Albans): t know something about that appointment. „ _ Hon. Miss Howard: As far as I am concerned, there has been no political I -.g-rolling since I have been in this 3 °The Bill was read the second time.