UNDER GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 32, 7 February 1916, Page 7

UNDER GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY

NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND. INJURES FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. J COMPLAINT FROM THE FORESTERS "The competition of the State subsidised National Provident Fund is without doubt injuring friendly societies in New Zealand, , declared Mr. James Shaldrick, the High Court Chief Ranger of the Ancient Order of Foresters, in hi 3 address at the opening of the New Zealand conference this morning. The numerical strength of friendly societies in New Zealand was over seventy-four thousand. Prior to the establishment of the fund the norma! annual increase in the friendly societies membership was about | 4 per cent. Since the establishment of the fund it had been as follows: —1!)05, 4i per cent; 190U, 0 per cent; 1(107, 7 per cent; 190S, 6i per cent; 190!) 2J peri cent; 1010, 3* per cent; 1011, 3| per cent; 1912, 2J per cent. In 1014 the increase in membership was 0.15 per, cent, while in the latter year the returns show a decrease of O.7Ci per cent.

This was the first year a decrease had boon shown since statistics hud been kept. He did not say that the whole of this decrease -was accounted for by the National Provident Fund, but it was well known th;it lai«ro numbers wore joining that fund who would otherwise have joined one of the many friendly societies.

If it was fair and reasonable com-i petition they would not complain, but for the (rovprnment to subsidise the fund to the extent of SO per cent of the contributions was distinctly unfair, and H persisted in would inevitably j have the effect of decreasing the useful-! ness of tho friendly societies, oven if it; did not kill thorn" outright. Tho fund : received from the State a subsidy of'2."i per cent on all its contributions, and in 1 addition tho Ptato paid all the expenses of management, and further the State was pledged to make good any deficiency there might be in their members' contributions, provided they were not sufficient to moot the claims on the fnnd. In the caso of a friendly society, the members paid tho whole nf the contributions required to provide the benefits, and paid their own expenses of management. It was grossly unfair that in addition to this they should be compelled by taxation to provide onehalf of the contributions nf the members of the National Provident Fund.