Corporations
p. 57 · Read in the full issue
[?]Hasluck War On
Private Enterprise
Corporations But Not Individuals
By R. W. Robson
we can see recently .Ci indicates that it is the purpose of the present Territories Min ister in Australia to drive the small individualist out of New Guinea, and leave all European enterprise to the big corporations,” said a well known Rabaul resident to me in August.
“It is practically impossible now for a man to get a bit of land under jonditions which will allow him to istablish a plantation. Then, even f he can get land, he can expect 10 financial help from the Admin stration, in any shape or form.
“Men accustomed to the Territory, md with a knowledge of seaman ;hip, could get into the coastal rade here, and several established irofitable businesses. Now we have he new regulations governing ship >ing—they simply mean that the mall shipowners will be driven out.” niNALLY, there comes this new l Liquor Ordinance, which pparently is designed to put
the small hotelkeeper out of busi ness.
Mr. Norman Lee, proprietor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Rabaul de scribed the effect of the Ordinance.
In the past, hotelkeepers paid £l5O per annum and clubs £lOO, as a flat license fee. The new plan is that they will pay 4 per cent, on their total purchases of liquor. This is go ing to be enormously more costly The Treasurer (Mr. Reeve), calcu lated that the Treasury would get £40,000 per annum from the new tax —actually, it will not be less than £90,000 per annum.
This Ordinance seems to have been based on the law in the Can berra Capital Territory, where the licensed victualler pays 5 per cent, on his purchases. But the great dif ference—which the Administration obviously overlooked—is that a very large proportion of the liquor con
sumed in Papua and New Guinea is imported by the Big Firms as agents and passed on by them to the hotel keepers. Under the new system, the Big Firms will pay the 4 per cent, tax, and then will pass on the goods to the hotel or club, plus tax and profit; and then the hotel or club must in its turn pay 4 per cent, on the total sum charged by the importer.
In Canberra, they are under no such burden—they can buy directly from the breweries and importers, who nave not already paid a tax.
On top of it all, the Administra tion now is putting on a team of inspectors, to travel around among clubs and hotels, and police the Ordinance. (In August, a private deputation from P-NG merchants visited Can berra and registered a strong com plaint aaginst the new Liquor Ord inance—but the result of these rep resentations is not yet known).