WAR PENSION INCREASE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18471, 7 August 1923, Page 8

WAR PENSION INCREASE

REPORT OF COMMISSION.

R.S.A. CLAIMS THE BASIS.

THE ; ECONOMIC = SYSTEM.

UNEMPLOYMENT PROVISION.

".{BY' ' TELEGRAPH.— REPORTER.]; " '' WELLINGTON. Monday. ?: The report of the War Pensions Commission, dated October 16,. 1922, was presented to the House of Representatives to-day. , The Minister for Defence, Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, had stated in introducing the amending Bill that it embodied many ,of the commission's findings, v. Tho recommendations of the commission, which consisted of Messrs. J. R. . Bartholomew, S.M., W.. H. S. and Alexander Macintosh, followed in the main 10 claims put forward by the Returned . Soldiers' Association. They were briefly as follows: Claim I.That an increase of 75 per cent., subject to tho necessary cost-of-living adjustment, should; be granted in respect of ,the present basic pension. Tho commission's recommendation was: (a) That the pension for total disablement be the compensation pension of £2 a week, plus an' economic pension of £2 a week as a minimum, the economic pension to increase or decrease in accordance with the variation in the cost of living, personal earnings to be taken into account in fixing the amount of economic .pension, so that the total of the pensions and personal earnings do not exceed £3 lOs a week, the economic pension to be reviewed annually. In addition, the wife and children to receive their pension under the present scale. (b) That" men disabled more than 50 per cent, be treated similarly to totally disabled men, in respect of economic pension in the discretion of the War Pensions Board, to the intent that while a disabled man of this class is unemployed through no fault of his own he should be entitled to the full benefit of the economic pension and pension for. wife and children. Partial Disablement. (c) That cases of disablement of 50 per cent, and less be dealt with in a somewhat similar way as regards economic pension and pension for, wife and children with a wide discretion left to the pensions board. (d) That widows' pensions he increased by the grant of an economic pension of 10s a week in the case of a widow with one child, with an increase of 25 per cent, on this amount for each additional child, bringing the total pension up to £3 a week for a widow with one child. £3 12s with two children, and £4 5s with three children. Income from all sources, including civil pension, to be taken into account and the economic pension to be reduced accordingly. (e) That widowed mothers totally dependent be granted the present pension of £1 10s a week, plus an economic pension of £1 a week, total income from all sources not to exceed £2 a week.

(f) That widowed mothers' partially dependent be granted the present pension of 15s a week, plus an economic pension of £1 a week, subject to the same conditions. '•'.'"*

Claim 2.—That the pension to the widow and child be continued so long as the child is receiving its education. Recommendation: That the War Pensions Board be given express authority to continue the policy which it is now carrying out.

Annual Adjustment. Claim 3.—That pensions should be adjusted triennially in '" accordance with variations in' the cost of living'. Recommendation: That ah annual adjustment be made in the case of economic pensions. ■"';:. Xi-; ; «.-V( .-..";. .. -..:;■ •:.'",-

[ Claim That extra . allowances of £10, £8, and £3 in the case of upper ' leg, lower leg, and arm amputees respectively for wear and tear of clothing should be granted. Recommendation: That allowance of £8 and £6 yearly be made in the case of upper leg and lower leg amputees respectively. Claim That an additional travelling medical officer of the war pensions board be appointed. , Recommendation: This has been met and the system could be advantageously extended. Claim 6.—-That appeal from any decisions of the war pensions board should be provided for. Recommendation: (a) That the right of appeal to a tribunal of the highest authority should be given in certain . cases with safeguards to reduce the number of genuine appeals, (b) That the existing medical appeal board be abolished, and that the right of appeal be given in the following - cases:—■ (1) The rejection of any claim for a pension on the ground that the death or disablement of the member of the forces in respect to whose death or disablement the claim is made was not due directly or indirectly to his employment as a member of the forces,, or in the case of disablement,, that the condition of disablement was not aggravated by such employment. (2) The assessment of a pension ■ granted )to any member of the forces in so, far as the assessment is based on medical grounds as a condition precedent to appeal. Appeal Tribunal. There should first be a hearing by the War Pensions Board which the applicant may attend in person and be represented by counsel or agent. The right to appeal should be subject to a certificate by a stipendiary magistrate or the Crown Law Office that the appeal is a reasonable case for appeal. The appeal tribunal should consist of a Judge of the Supreme Court, with a medical assessor, the latter to "act in an advisory capacity and take no part in the decision as the War Pensions Board consists of a stipendiary magistrate, a medical, man and a soldiers' repfesentative, and any appeal tribunal must have higher qualifications and'standing. '■'.■'"''■ ■''■'.'"' Claim 7.—That a pension should not.be cancelled or reduced in addition to any other punishment inflicted by a Court. Recommendation: That the matter be leftto the discretion of the : War Pensions Board, subject to the approval of the Minister, as at present, and that power be expressly given to the board to review or cancel any existing pension ,on like grounds, the pensioner having the right to have his character further investigated by a magistrate.

Claim B.That soldiers' pensions should be exempted from income tax. Recommendation: This commends' itself to ' the commission as a proper concession. - Claim 9.—That a soldier's widow should be eligible for a pension .irrespective of the date of the marriage. Recommendation : The general principle of the claim is approved subject to certain necessary safeguards. It is recommended that the marriage time limit be abolished and that the woman bo entitled to the full rights of a soldier's, wife subject to the proviso that the board is satisfied that the marriage was a reasonable and proper one, having regard to the man's health at the time of marriage. ■ ; Limit of Pension Right: Claim 10.— the seven-year limit in sub-section (2) of section 3 of the 1915 Act- should be abolished. This limits the pension rights of a wife and children to cases where the soldier dies from war in'juries or disease within seven years after receiving the injuries or .contracting the disease. Recommendation: That the limitation be abolished. ' ' ; The commission also recommends that new regulations for medical treatment bi> drawn up; that the schedule of injuries be regretted, and that the maximum allowance for an attendant on an injured man be raised from ill to £3 a week. .':'/*'-. Regarding higher ranks than that of private, the commission -.recommends that the benefit of the economic pension be given in cases where the existing pension does not amount to the total of the compensation, and economic pensions now recommended, in the case of ■ the lowest