STATE LOTTERIES

Hokitika Guardian, 18 October 1933, Page 8

STATE LOTTERIES

N S.W. SYSTEM TO BE CONTINUED

MONEY FOR HOSPITALS

SYDNEY, October 14. It can now be definitely stated that the New South Wales Government will continue the State lottery. That policy has been practically forced on the Ministry for financial reasons. Ministers generally admit that, without the proceeds of the lotteries, the (Government would be able to finance the hospitals of the State. The Premier, Mr Stevens, is. not in favour of the lottery, and he would much prefer that the hospitals were financed by other means. The Ministry would give favourable consideration to any scheme which could be substituted for the lottery as the means of financing the hospitals, but such a scheme, it is 'emphasised, must, exclude any additional taxat.on of the community in general or industry. The Government’s main objective is to reduce taxation, and it will not depart from that policy 1 in making a decision on the future of the lottery. Probably in the near future the Government will consider the advisability of introducing special lotteries, in which 100,000 tickets of £1 each will be (issued, and the fipst prize will be | £25,000. The prize money will be on a ' similar basis to that provided in the big Queensland lotteries, j Thousands of pounds weekly are being ! sent from New South Wales to Queensland. Some Ministers and the majority of the- members of the ' Ministerial, parties consider that steps should be, taken to keep the. money in. New-South I Wales. It is to achieve that objective that the special lotteries are being | planned. Recently the Council of Churches waited on the Premier and urged that the lottery should be abolished, and that the hospitals should be financed with a portion of the wages taxation. Ministerialists will not agree to'this j suggestion. Some other scheme, they 'point, out, must be framed bv the -•churches if they desire the Government j to give it sympathetic consideration. [ For every os 3s' invested by the public 'in the lottery the hospitals receive a little less than 2s for maintenance purposes. The hospitals are costing the (Government nearly £BOO,OOO a year to j maintain. The Government lias ad-, vanced more than £400.000 out of the unemployed relief fund for the construciitiibnu exttensrjon alnd improvement of hospitals. : j DOring the last financial year 78 lotteries were filled. The total net subscriptions from the sale of tickets amounted to £2,054,982, a decrease of £40,626 as compared (with the. previous year. The net surplus was £722,164. .7 W