PENSION SCHEME.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 11 July 1925, Page 4

PENSION SCHEME.

LABOUR CHARGES DENIED. MINISTER. DEFENDS THE DEPARTMENT’. (BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION. WELLINGTON, July 10. The policy of the Government in regard to pensions and housing formed the subject of a speech in the House to-night by the Minister in charge of these departments (Hon. G. J. Anderson). Mr. Anderson denied the charges of Labour members that he had failed in hi a dutv to conserve the interests of pensioners and had wasted money in connection with housing. Seven thousand people had benefited by the legislation.of last season granting half-a-erown mei'ease in pensions at a cost of about £52,000. The requests that had been made by Labour members would mean an increase of the pensions pavments from £1,000,000 to £2,038,500.

Labourites had stated that- there had been reductions in the pensions paid. This was true only so far as the war pension was concerned, but the decrease in this class of pensions was anticipated and was duo to a natural cause. Similarly, the total payments of epidemic pensions was affected by the fact that the children concerned had reached the age that put them outside the scope of the pension scheme. The Minister said the amount of property a pensioner could hold had been increased, and the system was the most generous of any in the Empire. The only way further increases in pensions could be made was toVmake the system contributory; in otAr words, by universal superannuation scheme, otherwise anomalies were inevitable, as there would always he borderline cases. References had been made to muddlement in regard to housing provision, but the circumstances were exceptional and even then the loss did not exceed £37,000, and £26,000 of this wa s due to remissions made in the charges to occupiers of houses