MUFTI ALLOWANCE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24985, 20 September 1946, Page 10

MUFTI ALLOWANCE

Sir, —After having written two letters, one to the secretary of the Returned Services’ Association and another to the M.P. of my electorate, regarding mufti allowance, and not receiving an answer from either, I now find it necessary to make my complaint public. I joined the Regular Forces in July, 1938. sailed for overseas duty in September, 1941, saw action in the Western Desert, Tunisia arid Italy, and returned to New Zealand in September, 1945. I applied for a discharge from the Regular Forces and terminated my service in February, 1946. When I applied for mufti allowance I was informed that f did not qualify for any. Some members of the Regular Forces received mufti allowance and others did not. I think it most unfair to give to some and not to all. This is just another case of the Government not keeping their promises made to servicemen.—Yours, etc., R. S. HAWORTH. Ex. 47903, Gnr., sth N.Z. Fid. Regt., 2nd N.Z.E.F. August 28, 1946.

[Commenting qn this letter, the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) said: “As a general rule, under the existing policy, members of the New Zealand Regular Forces do not qualify for the payment of mufti allowance. Some exceptions are made to this rule, however, such as where a member of the Regular Force served with the 2nd N.Z.E.F., and received wounds to the extent that he was unfit for military service in the Regular Force on return to New Zealand. In addition, a member of the Regular Force who has been discharged from the armed forces as the result of disabilities -accepted as attributed to service in New Zealand will qualify under certain conditions for the payment of the* allowance. An exmember of the New Zealand Regular Forces appointed to that force for service during the war \only, and a N.Z.S.C., or N.Z.P.S., soldier who enlisted on short service engagement also qualifies. Gunner Haworth was discnarged from the New Zealand Regular Force at his own request, and not because of medical Unfitness; and he does not therefore qualify for the payment of mufti allowance. He was not a reservist or a soldier who had rejoined the Regular Force.”]