Take Their

Hon. Members Take Their Shirts Off

From a Suva Correspondent Unofficial members of the Fiji Legislative Council took their shirts off to the Government in one of the dullest Budget debates for years.

And the reason for the combined attack by Fijian, European and Indian members on Financial Sec retary Harry Ritchie’s Budget pro posals? Shirts.

MR. RITCHIE wanted an ad ditional income of £167,000 because likely additional expenditure next year on a National Provident Fund, the Development Plan and other things looked like swallowing up his estimated surplus of about £216,000.

At the time he produced his proposals Mr. Ritchie said nothing about another little matter which was then top secret but which has come out since—increased salaries for certain classes of civil servants in the £BOO-plus bracket, which in a full year will cost Fiji’s taxpayers £226,000. As the increase is retro spective, the Colony will have to find an extra £158,175 this year.

More On Cars, Too

Mr. Ritchie proposed to raise the wind by higher import duties on spirits, piece goods, cars, cinema tograph films and shirts.

Increased duty on cars should bring in £45,000; on films, just a petty cash sum of £2,000; spirits £55,000, and £60,000 from shirts and fabrics. The rest would come from reserves.

During the debate, nobody was critical of the tax on spirits or cars and there was little to do about films, but, to a man almost, the unofficials opposed the tax on shirts and piece goods.

What annoyed the honourable members was that the tax doesn’t go on all shirts. It is only on shirts which the poorer classes buy, children’s shirts (1/- preferential, 2/- general) and others (2/- and 4/-).

Towards the end of the debate, however, Government accepted an amendment from Attorney-General Justin Lewis cutting the increases somewhat.

One unofficial, Mr. C. D. Aidney, voted with the Government on this but in spite of the amendments the

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other occupants of the opposite benches voted against the tax.

The Government won, 15-9.

One of the most vociferous opponents was Semesa K. Sikivou who brought a parcel of shirts and piece goods into the council chamber.

Waving a shirt at the Government benches, Semesa said, “This is a dis criminatory measure meant largely for the lower income group, and I object to these items very strongly for that reason alone”.

Other speakers took the same line.

Replying to the attack, Mr. Ritchie revealed the real reason for the tax on shirts was that local importers were making a profit at the expense of the country.

The shirts and fabrics were com ing in mainly from sweatshops in Hong Kong and other places, at greatly under-valued prices. Then, after they had reached the shop counter, the price had been greatly increased.

Mr. Ritchie gave figures. He pro duced a list which showed the cost with duty paid at the old rate of various classes of shirts, the retail selling price and the gross profit margin.

Profits ranged from 52 per cent, to 264 per cent., most being well over 100 per cent.

Replying to the argument that the increased duty would put the retail price up, he said there was not enough competition and he did not believe the consumer was a big enough “ass” to accept an increase in price.

It now depends on whether the shopkeepers decide also not to be asses. If they don’t give into the consumers there might be some shirtless people in Fiji.

That was about the only worth while debate on the budget. The remainder of the discussions involved every conceivable subject, but none of them world shattering.

The round - the - island roads— Queen’s Road and King’s Road— were the favourite topic, every speaker from the unofficial side begging the Government to get on with the job of building something reasonable.

Through the Director of Public Works, Mr. J. P. Barron, the Govern ment agreed the roads were poor and that something would have to be done—but what, they didn’t say.

It’s an open secret, however, that they’ve tried the World Bank for funds and that they are also trying one or two other places.

Hospitals, schools, housing, water supplies and a dozen other subjects were touched on and no one lost his temper on any of them. The Government replied to almost every point, and the budget proposals went through, shirts and all.