New category of phone rentals?

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 31

New category of phone rentals?

Parliamentary reporter | A call for a new classifica-i tion for telephone rentals to cover organisations such as) isports clubs and community) organisations such as play! centres has been made ; by Mr M. K. Moore (Lab.,! (Papanui). He said that such commun-i lity organisations were the! “unseen victims” in the Gov-i emment’s policy of continu-i ally raising charges. Mr Moore said many groups paid, I business rates for telephones! I when they were neither bust-1 nesses nor residences. “Every time charges such; as postage or telephone costs) I go up, it often means an) I extra raffle ticket or bottle) drive for social clubs so they) can continue their work for! the community. Many organi-) sations, such as football! clubs, are now delivering! their newsletter by hand! rather than post them because of increased costs,” Mr! Moore said. “My local swimming club; in Belfast has been told it will have to pay business!

I rates for a telephone, in des- ■ pite of submissions to the > Government.” ;) “A swimming club, a play I centre or a football club is !not a business, is not profit ) making, provides a service to .; the community and therefore) : should be recognised as such | by the Government. ij “It is stupid to have on one ■ihand a Ministry of Sports land Recreation that is sup- ■ posed to sponsor sporting !; activities and then on the ;iz»ther hand to have Govern[ment departments ripping off ) the same organisations by II stupid bureaucratic decision, ; I such as to call a sports club ia business. j “Some clubs have got away | with having telephones clas- ' | sifted as residential ‘phones, | thereby saving more funds,” he said. ) “However, they are not residences, nor are they businesses. In the interests of the | community the National I Party should introduce a new * I classification that would assist these organisations and -clear up such anomalies.”