WAR PENSIONERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1936, Page 5

WAR PENSIONERS

AMENDING BILL

SECOND READING STAGE

The War Pensions Amendment Bill was put through the second reading stage in quick time in the House of Representatives last evening. The second reading was moved by the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) and the only other speaker was Mr. H. G. Dickie (National, Patea), who briefly expressed approval of the provisions of the Bill. The Minister said if Was 21 years since the War Pensions Act was passed. Since that time a number of amendments had been passed which tended to make the treatment of soldiers and their dependants more liberal, but they did not remove all the anomalies and hardships that existed. After referring to the cuts that had been made during the depression, the Minister said that some "restoration was made last year, and the Bill, in the main, restored the cuts in war pensions and increased the economic pension for returned soldiers to 25s a week. The Government was faced with an increased cost of war pensions and war veterans' allowances of £218,452, quite a large amount of the increase being due to the number of soldiers who were breaking down in health. The cost of the increases provided for in the Bill wouid amount to £65,000 for the nine months of this yesr from July 1, and next year would amount to £86,666. Some of the figures, however, might be altered as a result of war veterans who were invalids transferring to the invalidity pensions. . . DEFENCE OF THE BOARD. The Minister stated that the cost of war pensions and allowances this year would be £1,584,000, and in addition the Government was spending £70,995 on medical treatment of returned soldiers. He said occasionally one heard criticism of the War Pensions Board and the War Pensions Appeal Board, but he believed those boards were trying to do the.fair thing by the returned soldiers. Approximately 48.9 per cent, of the appeals coming before the War Pensions Appeal Board were granted, and that showed that the board was ""giving sympathetic consideration to the cases it :dealt with. It was to the credit of the previous Government, said the Minister, that it had introduced the War Veterans' Allowance Act, which made provision for returned soldiers who could not prove that their disabilities were due to war service. After referring in detail to the provisions of the Bill, the Minister said that the extra cost of £65,000 would be made up as follows:—lncrease in economic pensions, £33,000; increases for other dependants,; £6000; new pensions for wives and widows of returned soldiers £19,000; extension of marriage period for those receiving war veterans' allowances, £7000. Mr. Dickie said he approved of the Bill. He realised that the economic pension was being increased half-way from what it was at present, the original amount, but when it was first granted It was very liberal indeed. The Bill was read a second tlnw. .|