ALIMONY FAILURE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30535, 2 September 1964, Page 18

ALIMONY FAILURE

Alleged Gaoling (Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Sept 1. The Minister ot Justice (Mr Hanan) tonight promised to look into a cue put forward by Miss M. B. Howard (Opp., Sydenham) of a - war pensioner who was “picked up and thrown into gaol" because he could not afford to pay maintenance to his divorced wife. ' Miss Howard, during discussion of Justice Department estimates in the House of Representatives, said the war veteran was unfit for any normal occupation and lived solely on his Veteran’s allowance. But out of this allowance he wu expected to pay his wife, who had an old-age benefit of £5 or £6 a Week, £3 a week maintenance. "What would he live on, £2 a week? He’d starve,” she said. Miss Howard mentioned later that she had only recived a letter containing these allegations that day.

Mr Hanan said he would have the complaint, looked into if Miss Howard referred the details tp him. Maintenance orders were made by the courts, he pointed out, and they looked into full details of every case before making the order.