REHABILITATION BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 133, 2 December 1944, Page 8

REHABILITATION BILL

NO DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM Gratification at the lack of destructImondm^tn^ the" Rehabilitation hS.« * •£' BIU w. as expressed in the House of Representatives yesterday by the Prime Miniver. He stressed the need for sifting\ut effective crfticism f/^" 3/' he said it would be a miS v a rehabilitation scheme could be introduced without weaknesses. The House and the country were j?SeV° do everything possible for returned men up to the limits of the country's resources, and he wouldcor! for rove>l&. Tf - S- G°osman (National, Wailn dispute! 8 y 6 methods t^t.are t,,2, n *°I the- pointf raised by the' Returned Servicemen's Association was the overweighing of the Rehabilitation .Board by officials of the Depart- , ments concerned, continued Mr. Fraser Sikh dl, s T c. ul>sf d that matter in detaii with the Minister, and if the Minister thought there was any danger in the composition of the board In alter a ! tion would be favoured by the GovWORKING OF BOARD. The Minister was convinced that the board was working better and would work better with representatives of the Departments as part and parcel of the organisation. It had been represented that those officers, would be quite effective and do the job equally well in an advisory capacity, being present at meetings ?i, ut nol v°ting- It was natural that there should be greater responsibility and a ieeling of more enthusiasm if +uey-*^e-re embers of the board, and the Minister considered they would be more . effective as such. The Government was adhering to the membership of the board by those officials, but the Minister proposed an amendment providing for an additional full-time and non-official member The appointment of that member would be i beneficial in-allaying any doubt that might be felt regarding the domination of the board by what was erroneously called the "official mind." The official mind in the present case was a most helpful, co-operative, and progressive mind. The pleasure of irritating criticism could not be weighed against the advantages of co-operation 1 m the interests of returned servicemen.