NEW HOTEL FOR INVERCARGILL

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27734, 11 August 1955, Page 14

NEW HOTEL FOR INVERCARGILL

LICENSING TRUST’S PROPOSAL PROFIT OF £47,000 AFTER TAX PROVISION (New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, Aug. 10. The building of a new hotel in Gala street to accommodate from 100 to 150 guests is the most important project on the Invercargill Licensing Trust’s building programme, according to. the chairman (Mr R. Eleakley) in his annual report to the Minister of Justice (Mr J. R. Marshall). The trust has five projects on its building programme. Thej) will be carried out as and when circumstances permit. The projects are the replacement of the Clyde and Kelvin Taverns the erection of a new store buildin at Rugby Park, the replacement of th Appleby Hotel, and construction o a new accommodation hotel.

“At this stage it is not possible t fix any definite order of priority fo) these projects, all of which are nov deemed to be most necessary,” savr Mr Bleakley. “The obstacle which we trust, will be a temporary one i. e our inability to obtain the necessary building permits. “It would seem that the hotel industry is being unfairly and harshly treated by discriminatory legislation in the matter of building permits,” he says. I The trust made a 'clear profit of £47,034 for the year ended March 31. 1955. This figure was achieved after transferring to the taxation reserve £48.500 from the net profit of £ 95.1534. The net profit for the previous year was £27.431. The turnover of £714,661 was, for the eleventh successive year, a record, and represented an increase of £116,342 over the previous year. The gross profit of £282.628 showed an increase of £50.171 on last year’s figure of £232,457. The sum of £5OOO will be distributed by way of gifts, and the reman, ing £42,034 will be transfer to the general reserve account which will then total £179,201. DOCTORS’ FEES No Change In System Proposed MINISTER’S REPLY TO QUESTION DISCUSSED (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 10. The charges of some doctors were in many cases so much in excess of the normal fee that he knew of friendly societies whose funds were sadly depleted, said Mr F. Hackett (Opposition, Grey Lynn) in the House of Representatives this afternoon, during discussion of written Ministerial replies to questions. Mr Hackett was discussing the reply of the Minister of Health (Mr J. R. Hanan) to a question by Mr J. M. Deas (Opposition, Otahuhu) asking whether the Minister would take any action to protect persons, especially age beneficiaries, from increases in doctors’ fees. The Minister had replied that it was not proposed to take any action to restrict the right of doctors to fix their own charges. Mr Hackett said he knew that representatives of friendly societies had approached doctors and asked them whether they would consider reducing thir fees to social security beneficiaries. Mr F. L. A. Gotz (Government, Manukau) said the question was one of the type asked periodically by members of the Opposition in an effort to represent themselves as champions of the poor and the sick and the Government as inhuman monsters. He knew of few cases where doctors asked age beneficiaries to pay anything at all above the social security payment. Mr Deas said he was disappointed that the Minister proposed to take no action. Mr A. H. Nordmeyer (Opposition, Island Bay) said the Government should consider increasing the fee payable to doctors, but he felt the present system was not satisfactory. He believed that the medical profession, in the light of experience, would prefer the introduction of a capitation scheme. Mr R. E. Jack (Government, Patea) said that doctors had been allowed from social security 7s 6d for each patient in 1938, when old-age pensioners were getting only 30s a week. The age beneficiary was now drawing nearly threefold the original amount, while doctors’ fees remained the same.