‘Special case’ for isolation allowance

Press, 9 October 1982, Page 12

‘Special case’ for isolation allowance

Greymoulh reporter State servants at Fox Glacier will receive a “special case" isolation allowance. This follows up an approach made by the member of Parliament for West Coast, Mr T. K. Burke, to the Minister of State Services. Mr Thomson. In his letter. Mr Burke said that he believed that the criteria for an isolation allowance to be provided said that the population of a district should be less than 300 residents based on the 1976 census. "The population of Fox Glacier was given as 528 in 1976 on census night, but this was clearly an inflated figure because of the tourist trade, with bus tours in hotels and camping grounds. “It is estimated that the permanent resident population would be between 100 and 200 during the summer — probably somewhere between 125 and 175. Mr Thomson said that he had referred the question to the State Services Commission which had said that in the context of the isolation allowance package, the census night population of the individual localities was used as an indication of the types of facilities that were likely to be available for the use of the local population. “As Fox Glacier is a recognised and popular tourist

centre, it was agreed by the State Services Co-ordinating Committee and the Combined State Unions during the course of negotiations on the isolation allowance package that the size of Fox Glacier's transient population contributed to the range of facilities available for the permanent population." Mr Thomson said. "Therefore. Fox Glacier township was included in. the isolation allowance package as a special case."