SECOND READING CARRIED

Northern Advocate, 23 October 1936, Page 8

SECOND READING CARRIED

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BILL

Per Press Association — Copyright.) WELLINGTON, This Daj-.

In the House of Representatives yesterday urgency was accorded the passing of the Workers’ Compensation Bill, and the Bill was put through all stages and carried. Mr S. G. Holland (Opp.—Christchurch North) thought that the Minister should give considerable publicity to the provisions of the Bill, as so many were effected, and the employer should not have to wait till he was innocently liable for damages under the Bill to ledrn its full meaning. There were a number of provisions with which he thought every member would agree, but there was still an anomaly regarding the computation of earnings, and he suggested that a ■worker’s earnings should be computed on the wage received at the time of the accident, or the average wage over the previous 12 months, whichever was greater.

He said the provision regarding compensation for sharemilkers might mean that a sharemilker who had an accident would receive the full amount ol his earnings.

Claims Against Bankrupt.

He also suggested that the provision placing a claim for compensation in a case of bankruptcy on a level with wages should be extended to make this * apply where the person or firm reached a voluntary agreement wlthTiis or its creditors, as that was only a polite way of going bankrupt. He said the Minister had quoted the case of Queensland, but during the last four years the total loss made through workers’ compensation was £277,000, or an average of nearly £ 70,000 a year.

The Hon. H. T. Armstrong: For 20 years prior to that they made profits, and the losses were paid out of the accumulated profits. Mr Holland quoted further comparisons with Queensland to show that in some cases the position in New Zealand was better than that in Queensland. He said the increased cost of, the Bill would be at least 14 per cent. Dr D. G. McMillan (Govt. —Dunedin West) said the reason why the cost in Queensland was higher -was because the benefits were greater. He quoted the dividends paid by the Standard Insurance Co., the New Zealand t Insurance Co., and the South BritisTi Insurance Co., and said that such profits were made possible by the exploitation of those who paid the premiums and who were injured. Compulsory Insurance For All.

Mr W. A. Bodkin (Opp.—Central Otago) said the companies quoted' by Mr McMillan had, over a period of years, been prudently managed, and from the profits from other classes of insurance, fire, marine, etc., which were far greater than the accident class, they had steadily built up reserves, and it was the interest-earning capacity of those reserves that enabled dividends to be paid. He said the analysis of a balance sheet did not give any indication of the benefits accruing under a policy. He claimed that accident insurance was not a very profitable business. ■ The Minister, he said, would have to go further and devise ways and means for compulsory insurance for all workers who were in business on their own account, such as taxidrivers running their own vehicles. He was not concerned with the extra cost to industry, as, in the final analysis, the consumer would have to pay.

Mr A. S. Richards (Govt. —Roskill) said the existence of State insurance made for more liberal treatment by the other insurance concerns. It had saved the premium payers thousands of pounds; it had caused far less difficulty to claimants; and it had served the public in a more beneficial way than any private institution. He said that before the State enterprise came into being there was a danger of the public being robbed of the major portion of its premiums. * Mr Armstrong said few measures to

come before the House had received the publicity given the present bill.. The second reading was carried.