AERO CLUBS

Wairarapa Daily Times, 13 April 1935, Page 5

AERO CLUBS

SUBSIDY ALLOCATION. A circular letter from Mr G. M. Spence, president of the New Zealand Aero Club, in which he stated that last year he had submitted to the Minister of Defence recommendations regarding the basis on which the promised subsidy of £4500 for the year 1934-35 should be allocated, was discussed at the monthly meeting of tho committee of the Wairarapa and Rualiine Aero Club. The point was stressed that any subsidy not earned by the clubs on that basis should be divided between them pro rata. The basis of allocation as contained in a reply received from the Controller of Civil Aviation differed materially in some respects from that recommended by the New Zealand Aero Club. Further, it did not provide for the distribution of any unearned portion of the subsidy among the . clubs, any part not earned on the basis fixed by the department remaining in the Public Account. Mr Spence said, that he had again written to the Minister, drawing attention to the injustice of the position, and tho clubs were not able to lift the whole of the subsidy because of a basis arbitrarily fixed by the department, under which no club could receive more than £SOO, even if.it had actually earned more. In the light of the Minister’s reply, Mr Spence said that apparently nothing further could be done this year regarding the allocation of the subsidy, and ho suggested that strong representations should be made to the Minister that the whole of the subsidy appropriated for aero clubs during the coining year should be. available, whether earned on tho basis approved by the department or not. It was decided to forward a strong protest against this position of affairs, and also against the action of not publishing the final allocations until tho last fortnight of the year, it being considered unfair that clubs should have to operate “in the dark,” not knowing what amount they were going to receive.