Are Imposed

"The Colony Is In For Some Belt Tightening"

Fiji Yells As New Taxes Are Imposed

From a Staff Writer

Suva, Nov. 26

The middle classes of Fiji are in an exceedingly bad temper. In places, there are signs of a mild revolt.

THE Legislative Council met in financial session last week; and a brand-new Governor (Sir Kenneth Maddocks) and equally brand-new Finance Secretary (Mr.

E. R. Bevington) submitted a Budget for 1959 which places new taxes, sstimated at about £250,000, squarely upon this mixed community of 150,000 people.

The gap between revenue (over 16 millions) and expenditure has )een discernible in the last year or ;wo, and the Colony has noted with increasing uneasiness that it tends ;o grow.

A Fiscal Committee, early this fear, recommended various admin strative economies; and the trad ng community has been pointing irgently to the need for more pro iuction and exports, to take care of •apidly-shrinking overseas balances.

Nonetheless, it came as a shock to earn that it was proposed to im pose new taxes to raise— £ ncreased personal income tax (the companies escape) from 1/- to 1/3 in £ 50,000 idditional duty on petrol of 3d per gallon 00,000 ncreased port and customs service tax from 6d to 9d 166,000 ncreased import duty on beer and increase in excise duty for new brewery 50,000 ligher duties on cosmetics and ; films 9,000 Half of the new taxes falls directly •n the high-salaried group and the raders; the remainder is spread through the port and customs harge) over the whole community.

Although expected, no one likes t. There are signs of bitter protest -even of a kind of revolt.

Committee "On Strike"

Yesterday, the Select Committee all the Unofficial Members, plus finance Secretary) on the Budget fas on strike.

So far, the Government sternly ays, “No comment”; but it is gener lly known that the Unofficial Mem •ers stuck their toes in and flatly efused to proceed with the Budget mtil the Government told them low, and to what extent, it had im 'lemented the cuts in administrative xpenditure sought by the Council -iter the Fiscal Committee had re iorted.

Yesterday, there seemed a com plete deadlock. Today, probably Government and Select Committee will compromise somehow, and get on with a Budget that, however un palatable, is inevitable.

Citizens' Protest

The other “revolt” is a thing of different complexion. Messrs. H. N.

Murray, S. A. Tetzner, J. P. Bayly and R. S. Kay—all well-known businessmen of Suva—have called a public meeting, in the Town Hall tonight, to protest against the in creases in taxes and duties. (Continued on page 149)

There will be fiery talk, which in evitably will swing around to forth right criticism of the administrative policies of the Government, in their relation to development and pro duction.

That line of criticism, of course, is justified by the facts —but the convenors of the meeting are just as blameworthy as the Government for the present situation. Their pro tests and criticism are ten years late.

As leading business administrators they must have seen this situation developing at least a decade ago when increasing population began to get gravely out of adjustment with productive capacity.

Instead of joining with all Fiji’s communities to demand revision of Fiji’s Constitution and administra tion, to take care of rapidly chang ing conditions, they remained silent and complacent, and enjoyed the good times of the post-war years, it is a little late for yelling—but yelling is still most necessary. Any thing to awaken the British Colonial Office to the seriousness of the situation!

This loss of productive wealth, this (so far) mild recession, this increase in taxation and “postpone ment of public works” (for the Gov ernor has announced substantial cuts in capital expenditure) are due primarily to internal maladjust ments as between population growth and land usage; but they have been hastened and accentuated by drought and hurricane damage, For example, Fiji has not nearly

ifilled the quota of banana exports iDermitted by New Zealand; and copra production is down so far that a, few coasters, customarily carry ing copra from Fiji’s ports to Fiji’s crushers are lying idle.

Defenders of the Government in cist that all these fiscal troubles ire due to droughts and hurricanes, rather than failure in administrative long-distance planning.

No one could really separate the causes. What does seem fairly cer tain is that Fiji is in for a long term )f belt-tightening, with social and political troubles developing.

Cost of Public Service

Naturally, the beach commenta tors are after the “cost of the public service”, with teeth bared. ; Every man has a set of figures ready, to ask why these public servants should enjoy these emolu ments and privileges, while the ion-official classes are taking it in the neck.

The true figures are hard to come )y. But it does seem that, taking ill governmental instrumentalities nto account, there are about 5,000 mblic servants; and there is no ioubt that their triennial leave and ravelling allowances, despite recent nits, still are extremely generous, lompared with what are given non pfficial workers.

I have a full set of Government Ecounts beside me—but it is im jossible actually to separate out the spsts referred to.

Every public servant whether Britisher, Australian, New Zealander )r local-born—is entitled to three nonths’ leave and travelling time o Britain every three years, and he cost of this in provision of relief, passages for the official and his wife md family, is enormous. There is in annual item in the Budget of Jetween £BO,OOO and £lOO,OOO for the Payment of these fares, alone. Other Posts can only be guessed at.

Then there are pensions. Every mblic servant retires soon after 50, >n a generous pension; and some the pension, representing the proportion of his service years given o Fiji, is a charge on Fiji. Someone old me that this is an annual cost 'f about £300,000.

However Fiji is governed, there Oust be annual leave, pensions, etc., or a trained public service; but the peach commentators—very much on ue job as this is written—insist hat the provision for these things ould be a little nearer the realities stablished in similar services here >y the big corporations.

After all, this is a pleasant, ualaria-free, healthy country, where ■mropeans live a very long time, he climate and conditions are lUite comparable with Northern 'ISW or Queensland: and there are 10 special privileges there for civil ervants. then (say the critics) treat iji as if it were in the swamps of he Ganges, or in Darkest Africa?