The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 1944. FUMBLING WITH REHABILITATION

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 277, 19 August 1944, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 1944. FUMBLING WITH REHABILITATION

In the course of the financial debate in the House of Representatives probably two-thirds of the speakers have referred to the rehabilitation of ex-servicemen. This is due not merely to parliamentary recognition of the magnitude of the national problem, but largely to the lively and increasing disquiet, both in the House and outside it, concerning the efficiency of the much-publicized machinery of rehabilitation set up by the Government. Member after member has had something to say about a lack of practical planning for the rapid and sound re-establishment of servicemen citizens. The disturbing thing is that this lack has become apparent at a time when the task is small in magnitude, and made comparatively simple by the continued existence of abnormal industrial conditions. When hostilities end, the real testing time will begin, perhaps in deflationary ‘ circumstances. There is room for grave doubt as to whether a rehabilitation system which is proving laboured and cumbersome now, will be equal to what is expected of it then. Speaking with his background of experience of overseas service, the Opposition member for Mataura (Mr. Macdonald) mentioned on Thursday the misleading impression created in the minds of many soldiers who have been abroad for several years as. to the operation and capacity of the existing rehabilitation scheme. His suggestion was that Government publicity had led the men to-believe that it would be a speedy and easy matter to be placed in any employment they liked, or on properties they wanted. Too many of them, he added, had the idea that all they had to do when they returned was to .“sign on the dotted line and they would then get a farm or small business of their own.” This being the case, then undoubtedly a misleading picture was painted overseas for election and propaganda purposes, and has since remained on display, for the experience of many servicemen already discharged has been very different. They have encountered delay and red tape. They have been passed round and frustrated in their endeavours to carry out their particular plans for re-establishment. Those who have returned to their former jobs have not represented any special problem of rehabilitation, and therefore no credit is due to the Rehabilitation Board. The experience of the remaining men has been far from uniformly satisfactory—even at a time when it should be possible to give every case close individual attention and every reasonable application a wide scope of opportunity. In two particular directions Government policy is actually stated to be hindering post-service settlement. As members of the House have pointed, out the restrictive operation of the Land Sales Act has discouraged property transactions and thereby limited the opportunities for returned men. Similarly the housing bottle-neck, needlessly aggravated by handicaps on private enterprise, is hampering rehabilitation. Evidence of the hopelessly inadequate nature of the provision made in respect to houses was presented at a South Island conference a few days ago when it was stated that only 44 State houses had been completed in Christchurch in the last six months, whereas 413 exservicemen’s’applications were lodged, including’ 138 listed as being urgent. The opinion, given at this conference, that the Dominion position was equally bad, is supported by the fact that on May 31 there were reported to be 33,368 applications lodged for State houses. In the face of such a situation as this, in. housing alone, there seems every reason to doubt whether the machinery of rehabilitation, in its present ponderous form, can do anything like what will be expected of it when the main flood of demobilization sets in. Ono of its weaknesses appears to be over-centralization, accompanied, by. a lack of opportunity and authority on the part of district organizations to meet the requirements of the men. Apart from this, however, the scheme as a whole has the hallmark of routine bureaucracy upon it. There is an apparent absence of the initiative, resource and alertness which should characterize an organization in which has been vested responsibility for a task of paramount national importance in the , period which lies immediately ahead. ___