POLITICAL POINTS

Evening Star, Issue 21966, 28 February 1935, Page 2

POLITICAL POINTS

DIMINISHED INCOMES [From Our Pakuamentarv Reporter.] WELLINGTON, February 27. The Government is considering the introduction of mi amendment to the Families Protection Act, empowering the courts to make an order increasing the amounts payable to holders of life interests in.estates whose income has so diminished as to cause destitution and hardship. The introduction of unemployment insurance has been under consideration on several occasions, but the view of the Government, according to a reply given to !Mr Ansell in the House, is that conditions in New Zealand are not suitable to the adoption of a scheme. It was stated that the experience of other countries where unemployment insurance was in force was still being watched. The Post Office does not intend to reintroduce the payment of a commission on stamps sold by private vendors. The Ministerial reply to a question on the subject by Mr Gan- stated that reasonable facilities for the sale of stamps already existed at the post offices, and at all except the smaller offices stamp vending machines were provided. An urgent question was_ put to Sir A. Young (Minister of Employment) by Mr M'Dougall to-day regarding married men in the Caroline-Joseph-villc relief camp at Invercargill. He stated that they were guaranteed that their wives would be paid 30s weekly if they went into camp, but Mr Bromley (Deputy-chairman of the Unemployment Board) had visited the district and the arrangement had been altered to a minimum payment of 20s if four days were worked, this presumably ignoring the possibility of lost time through sickness or bad weather. It had been claimed that these men could earn £3 3s weekly, so there should bo no difficulty in finding their wives 30s weekly. Sir A. Young replied that it was not disputed that the arrangement was to provide the wives of these men 30s weekly if full time were worked, and to further ensure that they should be provided for in case of lost time in.the first month. Mr Bromley had made a special arrangement with the Works Department that the Unemployment Board would guarantee that department up to 10s weekly of the amount required for the payment to wives.