HOSPITAL LEVY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32425, 1 May 1944, Page 5

HOSPITAL LEVY

CONFERENCE IN PAEROA MR C. C. WEBB’S OBJECTION COUNCIL’S ACTION QUESTIONED : An objection to members of the Paeroa Borough Council attending the conference of local bodies held in Paeroa recently when the question of the loan which the Thames Hospital Board propose raising for the construction of a base hospital at Thames was discussed, was voiced by Mr C. C. Webb at the April meeting of the council, Mr Webb pointing out that the question of a conference had not been before the council. He claimed that those who attended the conference were acting without direction from the. council. When the minutes of the local body conference called regarding the hospital board loan came before the meeting Mr Webb rose and said he wished to object to the Paeroa Borough Council being associated with the conference. He had, he said, personally objected to the Mayor on the subject. He said he considered that, as the Paeroa Borough Council had not objected to the loan, when the Thames Hospital Board had formally called ' for objections, the council should have been represented at the conference. He would have liked to personally have •been present if others attended, so that he could have expressed his views on the subject and his objections to the conference. He had not been able to attend owing to the hour the conference was called and the nature of his work. Burden Of Taxation Reading from press reports, continued Mr Webb, it seemed to him that the main objection was the burden of -taxation but local body balance-sheets showed this to be utterly incorrect. All local bodies had had record rate collections of recent years and if taxation was the big burden it, was claimed to be the property owners would not have been able to pay the , way they were. . At the conference, said Mr Webb, each speaker had said that all had •every confidence in the administration of the hospital board but did not want them to spend any money. Speakers had admitted additional accommodation was necessary but had *not given any suggestion as to where the board was to get the money. The suggestion that the money ' could be provided through the (Social Security tax would penalise the lowerpaid worker, said Mr Webb, contending that the man with a bigger income was more able to pay, say another 3d in the £ off his earnings than the small wage-earner who had not the margin to come and go on. Continuing, Mr Webb pointed out that all rates were unfair if looked at from the individual’s point of view. He instanced the man who paid borough rates and had not a footpath while another.ratepayer paid the same amount and yet had a concrete footpath. Reason For Busy Hospital Mr Webb said he thought that one of the reasons why the Thames Hospital was in such demand was because of the qualifications of the surgeon. “Get rid of him and people will go elsewhere and the cost of maintenance will be less,” said Mr Webb. The chairman of the hospital board was’ not invited to attend the conference, said Mr Webb, and this, he considered was not correct. The chairman should have been present and then he could have helped the conference by answering any questions. In conclusion,, Mr Webb said in his opinion the Paeroa Borough Council should not have recorded its vote at the conference as the question of the conference had not been before the council.

. The Mayor, Mr Edwin Edwards, said the conference had not been called to .protest against the £50,0W loan. The meeting had been called of all local bodies to consider the loan. No protest had been recorded against the loan at the conference, the only resolution passed being a request to the Minister of Health to peg the hospital rate and for the Minister to visit the district. Neither the Hauraki Plains County Council or the Paeroa Borough Council had' objected to the loan when the hospital board invited objections but at the conference both had supported the resolution. Mr D. G. McMillan said he had attended the conference representing both'the Hauraki Plains County Council.and the Paeroa Borough Council to protest against the incidence of taxation, not against the loan. ,„.Mr F. Sparks said he considered the council should be sympathetic to-

wards the position of the farmer. He quoted figures to show that taxation in New Zealand had doubled in recent years.

Mr Webb said he was asking for a definite statement whether the representatives of the Paeroa Borough Council were in order in attending the conference as they had no direction from the council as to voting.

The Mayor said he had accepted the invitation as Mayor to attend the the conference and had extended the invitation to all councillors to accompany him to the meeting. The Mayor then moved that the report be received and that the action of members of the council in attending the conference be approved. This seconded' by Mr Sparks and carried.

Mr Webb again spoke against the resolution and asked that his vote be recorded against it. The Mayor and Mr Sparks were appointed to represent the council at the conference to be held in Thames with the Minister of Health.