HOSPITAL LEVIES.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17493, 29 August 1928, Page 8

HOSPITAL LEVIES.

POSITION OF LOCAL BODIES. NO LEGISLATION THIS YEAR. (Times Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Legislation this session dealing with the incidence of levies made by hospital boards on local authorities is not contemplated, said the Minister of Health (Hon. J. A. Young), in the House of Representatives to-day, when replying to a question by Mr T. M. Wilford (Hutt)Mr Wilford stated that during recent years the contributions paid by the Lower Hu It Borough Council had increased by 100 per cent., and now were represented by £4BOO per annum. He asked the Minister whether lie had any_ scheme whereby every contributing authority would have more direct representation on hospital boards, and whether he proposed this session to introduce legislation to relieve the local bodies from the heavy burdens they had to bear through the payment of hospital levies. The Minister of Health replied that it was not intended to bring down a bill on the subject this session. If the local authorities did not like the work of collecting the levies the obvious reply would be: Make the hospital boards rating authorities; but that suggestion appeared to him to be undesirable, as its adoption would make for a multiplicity of the machinery for rating. The Minister pointed out that if there were any complaints the local people had themselves to blame as the hospital board representatives were returned by the same electors who electedthe local authorities. He had asked the Municipal Association and the Counties Association to confer and agree upon some basis of levies, and if that agreement was reached tic would be glad to ask Cabinet’s approval for the necessary legislation.