N.Z.R.S.A. COMMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 133, 2 December 1944, Page 9

N.Z.R.S.A. COMMENT

CONSTITUTION OF BOARD

'In view of the undoubted fact that rehabilitation is the greatest task that has confronted this Dominion, the New Zealand Returned Services' Association is most anxious that the machinery to deal with this task should be even better than the best," declares the association in a statement on the Bill. "It contends, and has maintained since the passing of the Rehabilitation Act m 1941, that the composition of the Rehabilitation Board is the quintessence of importance to the success of rehabilitation and it is strongly of I opinion that the inclusion in the personnel of that board of head officials of State Departments (as set out in section 6 of the Amending Bill now before Parliament) is definitely & retrograde step and wrong in principle.

The provisions of the Bill have been thoroughly discussed by representatives of the N.Z.R.S.A. with the Minister of Rehabilitation and the various minor amendments suggested by the N.Z.R.S.A..have been agffedto "L irL reg?rd t0 that action dealing with the alteration of the constitution » s*"°™*" of the Rehabilitation Board, the Minister is quite satisfied that, under the circumstances, the proposed constitution of the board is the best The association, on the other hand, is firmly convinced that the Rehabilitation Board should be reconstituted; that it should be full-time and consist of six members (not less than five) and that departmental officers should not be members of the board but act in an advisory capacity ?£ ly ' when required. It advocates this and emphatically protests against the proposed alteration of the constition of the board for the following reasons:— 6

(i) The machinery of rehabilitation requires that State Departments and other organisations shall be agents of and shall act in accordance with the directions of tire Rehabilitation Board. It is deemed to be definitely wrong in principle that the head of a Department should be party to deciding upon a course of action laid down for his Department, it is an instance of where the agent becomes the principal. +i(i i), l lt is only reasonable to expect that the head of a Department, having been connected with that Department for many years, will be prone to consider first the expense involved rather than the rehabilitation value of a project. (iii) If the inclusion of heads of Departments is imperative for the complete and wholehearted cooperation of such Departments, it clearly indicates that the success of rehabilitation— which must have the complete and wholehearted co-opera-tion of every person in the Dominion —must be seriously prejudiced Civ) It is submitted that in addition to their other duties, heads of t btate Departments will not •■ be" able to devote the time and thought that 1S ■essential in order to ensure that rehabilitation shall enjoy to the full the ability and experience of each of tne members of the Rehabilitation Board. j "These reasons have been presented to and discussed with the Prime Minister and the Minister of RehabilitaJJP"- and this association would say that it is confident that those Ministers and the Government are thoroughly sincere and wholeheartedly determined to see that everything possible is done to perfect the machinery dealing with rehabilitation. However in intimating that the proposed amendment will be proceeded with, the Prime Minister was emphatic that if the constitution of the board did not bring about satisfactory results, the Government would have no hesitation

m altering it—even at the next session He also indicated that he had suggested to the Minister of Rehabilitation that an additional full-time memH? r ™-the. board should be appointed, the Minister had agreed, and it was hoped that this additional member might I? J^? extent, meet the desires of the N.Z.RS.A. The N.Z.R.S.A., however cannot accept the appointment of an additional member to the Rehabilitation Board as adequately meeting its representations when that body is constituted in the manner set out in the amending Bill and it will persist in its endeavour to have .the board reconstituted in accordance with its policy."