£200,000 LOSS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 932, 27 March 1930, Page 10

£200,000 LOSS

Canberra Hotels Don't Pay REDUCING RENEWAL FEES j The loss on Canberra hotels, board- : iug-houses, and liquor bars last year. ] after making provision lor interest on capital, depreciation and maintenance, was £69.919 19s 2d. according to the ; annual report of the Federal Capital | Commission. The accumulated loss I under this heading since the formation of the commission is £220,842 ;12s Td. ! The liquor bars at the Hotels Acton, Canberra. Kurrajoug. and Wellington, and the three liquor cafes at Civic Centre, Kingston, and Manuka, which were opend towards the end of December. 1925. made reasonable profits with the exception of the Hotel Wellington and the Manuka Cafe, which together involved a trading loss of £B9. The control of hotels and boardinghouses is another difficult matter for the commission from a private point of view, as it has been required to provide accommodation for members of Parliament, public servants, and its ! own staff at rates that the residents ! can reasonably be expected to pay. In a special report, the retiring Chief | Commissioner (Sir John Butters) ex- ! pressed the opinion that the present | situation was unsound. He added: I *‘The advice of an hotel expert was sought some time ago, but little improvement could be suggested. It is impossible to see how the tariff could be increased.” The Federal Ministry is making serious efforts to secure lessees for at least two of the hotels now conducted by the commission. i With a view to making conditions of | lease more attractive, the Ministry has I decided to reduce the renewal fee for a liquor licence from 10 per cent, to q per cent, of the purchases of liquor during the previous 12 months, with a minimum fee of £SO. The reduction will operate for the Hotel Wellington and the Hotel Ainslie.