PENSIONS RECIPROCITY

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 May 1943, Page 6

PENSIONS RECIPROCITY

AUSTRALIAN DECISIONS.

CANBERRA, May 21.. Reciprocity of old-age and invalid pensions between Australia and New Zealand has been approved by the Federal Cabinet. The necessary legislation is expected to be introduced in the next session of Parliament. The agreement, which has formed the subject of discussions at various times during the last 29 years, will not operate until it has been passed by the New Zealand and Commonwealth Parliaments and is terminable by either Government under six months’ notice. The principal features of the agreement, which has been announced by the Federal Minister of Health (Mr. Holloway) are:—(l) Both countries may accept residence or permanent incapacity in either country as if they took place in the country in which the applicant actually lodged his request; (2) the maximum. grant must not exceed that payable in the country providing the lower maximum rate; (3) no financial adjustment will be necessary, since each country will bear the expense. The Minister said he welcomed the proposal as evidence of even closer association and understanding between the peoples of New Zealand and Australia, processes which had been accelerated and strengthened by war conditions and the appointment of official representatives. The Federal Cabinet, has also agreed to the details of an Australian unemployment and sickness benefit scheme which is estimated to cost up to £10,000,000 a year. The draft Bill provides a total benefit of £2 10/- for a man, his wife, and one child. This comprises 25/- for the man, 20/- for his wife, and 5/- for the first child. All subsequent children receive the normal child endowment of 5/- a week. These rates are on a slightly higher scale than the New Zealand plan on which the proposed legislation was modelled. MR. PARRY’S COMMENT. WELLINGTON, May 21. Commenting to-night on the plan for the reciprocity of old-age and invalid benefits between New Zealand and Australia, the Minister in charge of Social Security (Mr. Parry) said that he had been working for a long time to bring about what now seemed possible of achievement. New Zealand had passed the necessary legislation in 1913, but Australia had not taken similar action, though the Federal Government now proposed to come into line with New Zealand. The Minister said that when he visited Australia in 1938 a basis for agreement was discussed under which each country would accept financial responsibility in proportion to the periods of qualifying residence by the pensioner in each country.

BRITAIN’S PAYMENT SCALE.

LONDON, May 20.

Strong criticism of the Government’s Pensions and Determination of Needs Bill was expressed in the House of Commons to-day, although an amendment was rejected by 232 votes to 61. Moving the second reading, the Minister of Health (Mr. Brown) said the Bill made improvements of a minor character in the pensions law. An important feature, however, was that it carried the break-up of the poor law one stage further by applying to public assistance the principle of the Determination of Needs Act. He pointed out that the Government’s examination of the pensions problem was quite independent of the comprehensive proposals of the Beveridge Plan. Mr. Arthur Greenwood (Labour) said he could accept the fact that tne Government could not increase the basic rate of pensions, but he did not accept the view that there could be no further improvement in supplementary pensions. Mr. N. Edwards (Labour) moved an amendment that the House declined to give a second reading to the Bill, which failed to make provision for an increase in the income of oldage pensioners and ignored the needs of childless widows under 60 years of age and elderly spinsters. He said it had taken the Government more than 10 months to produce a miserable pettifogging Bill which did not redeem the pledges given, but damned the expectations the Government itself had raised in the hearts of more than 1,000,000 old-age pensioners.