Increased Subsidy

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 75, 21 December 1937, Page 6

Increased Subsidy

NAPIER HARBOUR WORKS Limit of State Aid Raised to £100,000 RESULT OF! EXTRA COSTS jAel additional labour subsidy of £50,000 is to be provided by the Government in connection with the Napier harbour improvement works. The chairman of the Napier Harbour Board, Mr. T. M. Geddis, iii making this announeerftent atyesterday's meeting of the board, detailed the negotiations - that had been' conducted witli the Government to obtain this inerease. The maximum subsidy previously was £50,000, and the increase brings the total to £100,000, In .order to meet the extra costs ruling to-day for construction work, Mr, Geddis made xepresentations to the Government in mn effort to meet at least portion of these costs "by seeuring an additional subsidy to that already granted by the Government when tho works commeneed. The xepresentations resulted in the Government agreeing to increase the subsidy from 12 per cent of the total cost of the work, including all items, to 50 per cent. of the labour cost, this becoming effective as from. September 1, 1937. The effect of the change is that up to August 31 the board .will be receiving subsidy on the former basis amounting to £28,296, and from September 1 onwards and until the completion of the undertaking th subsidy will be on the latter basis, namely, 50 per cent. of the labour cost. In effect, the subsidy has been raised from a maximum of £50,000 to a maximum of £100,000.,

At the moment, however, the .boaTd is concerned with the conditions applying to the new subsidy, particularly the con.dition relating to the exclusion of overtime wages, which, with tidal work characteristic to the -undertaking being carried out by the board, imposes a burden not perhaps contemplated in tHe tlrafting of the' conditions. The board, however, intends to mahe further represen" tations with a) view to having the operation of the conditions made aa practicable as possible. Satisfaction at the new arrangement with the Government was expressed by the chairman of the board, Mr Geddis, in. a statement covering the position. "It will give great satisfaction to the district to leam that following xepresentations made to the Hon. Walter Nash, Minister of Finance, and the Hon. P. C. "Webb, Minister of Labour, the Government has depided to increase the subsidy on the harbour improvement works from. the previous maximum of £50,000 to a maximum of £100,000 in order to finance the additional cost of the work," Mr Geddis said. Mr Barnard's Aid. "In the xepresentations made t'o the Ministers, the district members of Parliament have rendered Valuable service to the board. The Hon. "W. E. Barnard personally gave the matter close attention and it is largely due to his efforts that the board's representations led to so successful a conclusion. " "While this matter has been under discussion, full investigatious have been made by Government oflicers into the whole of the circumstances relating to costs and the progress made with the work, and the further generous assistance now granted is considered to be a recoguition by the Government of the urgent requirement for the provision of satisfactory harbour facilites at Napier, aud that the wbrks now in course of construction by the board will supply those improved facilities so necessary to the welfare of the whole of the harbour district.5 5