REHABILITATION

Evening Star, Issue 25567, 21 August 1945, Page 7

REHABILITATION

MOST OF THE PROBLEMS I ANTICIPATED t

N.Z. READY FOR THE JOB

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Aug. 20,

“ The sudden end of the war finds us more thau ready to welcome back all our men and women from overseas, and help them back into civilian life,” said the Minister of Rehabilitation, Mr-Skinner, in a -Statement tonight. - “ Thanks to New Zealand having started its rehabilitation scheme nearly four years ago and thanks to successful decentralisation, we have a well-experienced team of both departmental and voluntary workers anxious to grapple with the task before us.

“ I want to assure the men and women still overseas, wherever they may be,” the Minister added, “ that rehabilitation has become an efficiently working part of our national life, and most of. their problems have been, anticipated and provided for so: far as war-time shortages will permit.

“It should not be understood that the advent of peace means more, men coming home within the next few months than would have been brought back in any case,” said the Minister. The Government was doing its utmost to arrange for whatever shipping could, be made available, he added, but shipping was going to be an even greater problem in; the immediate future through the sudden collapse of Japan. In'the meantime, as had been announced by the Prime Minister, all the men at present in the country on indefinite leave with-

out pay and also, members of the first furlough 'draft who had had their dismissal cancelled, would now be eligible for consideration for all forms of rehabilitation assistance, so that the workiof the Rehabilitation Department would probably be considerably' increased in the immediate future.

“We quite realise that general demobilisation will increase our problems, but it will also in the end provide the solution to the basic problem of mail-power shortages,”" said the Minister. “ Most of our headaches so far have been due to labour shortages, which have in turn caused many material shortages. Housing, for instance, has been the biggest problem of all, but with the return to civil life of thousands of fit men we hope to have not only more skilled building tradesmen, hut also more men for work in the bush and mills, in the coal mines and on essential hydro-electric schemes. In effect, though we will need many more houses, we will also be able to build many more. Timber will always be our chief building material and we have plenty of it standing in our forests, but we need men to bring it but and mill it.

“ ! recognise,' of course, that many men who previously worked in the bush and in the mines may not wish to return to such work, but we will do our utmost to attract all the necessary labour there. Even 12 months’ work producing timber and coal by those fit and suited for the job would be very welcome and we will guarantee any ex-serviceman full protection of his rehabilitation benefits and privileges after any such period of essential work.”

Decentralisation liad brought about great improvements in efficiency and speed of decision, said the Minister, and it was hoped to be able to decentralise administration even further in the near future. The process had been provided for when the rehabilitation organisation bad first been set up and depended only on the experience of those concerned- and consequent uniformity of policy. . “ The servicemen’s employment division of the National Service Department is rendering valuable assistance in placing men in suitable employment if they desire such help,” said the Minister, and many ex-servicemen have' already availed themselves of its services. Moreover, a national survey of industrial needs is being undertaken with a view to assisting ex-servicemen into jobs with a future. The main problem to date has been the lack of man power, but from now on we can expect the supply to begin catching up on the demand. Rehabilitation will thus be accomplished in the most natural - manner to the benefit of the whole community.”