WAR PENSIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 106, 31 October 1941, Page 4

WAR PENSIONS

MANY ANOMALIES

DECISIONS OF N.Z.R.S.A.

Discussion on war pensions at the meeting of the Dominion council of the New Zealand Returned Services' Association yesterday afternoon centred on an attempt by Dunedin delegates to reinstate a remit urging the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate the whole ethical and financial basis of a pension system for war disability and asking the Government, following the Commission's report, to review the War Pensions Act, 1915, and its amendments. The attempt was unsuccessful, only five delegates voting for the proposal, which had been deleted from the order paper by a special sub-committee.

•Delegates agreed that every effort should be made to improve the present war pensions scheme and remove the many anomalies, but views were divided on the possible results of setting up a Royal Commission to investigate the position.

An Auckland remit seeking an increase of 25 per cent, in all dependants' and economic pensions was carried. An amendment moved by Mr. F. C. Allerby (Wellington) urging, that the war disability pension be increased to £3 arid all other disability pensions in like proportion received little support. The meeting adopted a proposal by Mr. N.1 H. Colquhoun (Oamaru) to set up a committee to investigate, the question of pensions and formulate a scheme for submission first to the Dominion executive and then to the various associations. The following committee was appointed:—Mr. C. O. Bell (Wellington), chairman, the secretaries of the Auckland, Christchurch; and Dunedin associations, and Messrs. G. B. Menzies (Napier), Allerby, and Colquhoun.

A large number of other remits bearing on pensions and the welfare of returned men.from the past and present wars and their dependants were also approved.