WAR PENSIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 283, 30 November 1933, Page 5

WAR PENSIONS.

WIDER SCOPE URGED. MEN IN BROKEN HEALTH. PROPOSAL TO HOUSE. (By Telegraph.— Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Tlie necessity for widening the scope of the War Pensions Act to make piO" vision for returned soldiers whose health has broken down, but who cannot prove that the breakdown is due to war injuries, was stressed by the Defence Committee of the House in a report which it presented to-dav on a War Pensions Amendment Bill introduced by Mr. J. A. Lee (Labour, Grey Lvnn). The measure sought to make it' necessary for the Pensions Department to disprove a returned soldiers claim for a pension instead of the piesent system of a man having to prove his claim himself. The committee reported that, as the bill in its present form could not proceed because it involved appropriation, it recommended that the subject matter, with the evidence, be referred to the Government, with a request for some investigation and action. The same committee, in reporting on a petition for a pension or compassionate allowance by a South African War veteran, who has suffered a breakdown in health allegedly due to the results of an accident in South Africa, recommended favourable consideration, and stated that the committee was of the opinion that the time had arrived when the increasing unemployability and sickness of returned soldiers necessitated an inquiry with a view to further liberalisation of the War Pensions Act.

Position Growing More Serious. In presenting the committee's report on Mr. Lee's bill, Mr. Dickie said that New Zealand was facing a problem which every country that participated in the war had to face, and though in some of the countries political action had been taken to help those who had fallen down in health, in other countriesthe men had been helped from public subscriptions and by other methods. In the action taken by it, the committee had the full concurrence of Mr. Lee, the promoter of the bill. Evidence was taken from the Returned Soldiers' Association and the South African Veterans' Association, and the views of those bodies were very helpful. "I think that all returned soldiers and the public generally in- New Zealand are seized with the fact that we have a great number of men who are outside the scope of our present pension legislation, but who generally require assistance," said Mr. Dickie. The present trouble had had the effect of aggravating the returned mfn's worries, and as they felt the combined effects of those troubles and their war experiences there was an ever-increasing number of petitions coming before the House. In Canada there was veterans' legislation, but it was more or less on the grounds of an old-age pension, as a man had to be 60 years of age before he could receive any benefit from it or apply for assistance. To-day in New Zealand there were many young men breaking down in health. He contended that the older men who had seen service had really sacrificed less, as they did not have to carve out a future for themselves after they returned. It would be found that many of the younger men who could not qualify under the age limit scheme of Canada were breaking down in health, and it was felt that something should be done for them. The limitation respecting the application for a pension had been done away with, the seven years' bar no longer applying. However, although a man could apply for a pension any number of years after his discharge, the longer lie waited the more difficult it was for him to prove attributability. It had also to be remembered that widows who had married two years after a man had received his discharge were out of the scope of the Act, and Mr. Dickie submitted that in this respect the Act should be widened. • Health Sacrificed.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. M. J. Savage, said he thought that the promoter of the bill and the committee should be congratulated on the report. The problem which the committee had investigated was one that had been dragging, more or less, for a number of years, and he agreed with Mr. Dickie in the views that had been expressed about the health of the young men. They sacrificed their health and their main chance in life. It was most difficult to prove attributability. It could not be argued that any man who went to the front was as good when lie returned as when he had gone away. He trusted that the Minister of Pensions would take particular notice of the bill and that he would leave no stone unturned to see that justice was done to all those who had sacrificed everything they had and who now found themselves in a difficult position.

Mr. Lee thanked the returned soldiers for tlje manner in which they had made statements. If the Government took any steps in the direction the committee advocated, he felt that the Prime Minister would have the entire support of the House. With only two exceptions, the Defence Committee was composed of returned men, and they gave short shrift to anyone who did not have a good case. But this was the present difficulty: individuals had a case, but not a case within the law, and the committee felt that the law should be extended. It was felt that the time had arrived when a new attitude should be adopted towards the returned men. Members felt that all was not being done for the man who to-day was "cracking up." The Hon. J. G. Cobbe, Minister of Pensions, gave an assurance that the matter would be very fully investigated. The committee's report was agreed to. Two Auckland Petitions. The petition of J. Ramsey, of Auckland, for a war pension was referred to the Government for favourable consideration. The committee had no recommendation to make on a similar petition from C. A. B. Martin, of Auckland.