SOCIAL WELFARE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22349, 21 February 1936, Page 14

SOCIAL WELFARE

'JtN'ATIONAIi 'INSCRANCE i V r NO EARLY LEGISLATION' FULL INQUIRY PROMISED * HEALTH AND PENSIONS < ■ '.r~_ A Parliamentary committee is presently to be set up for the purpose of making full investigations preparatory to the framing of the national health insurance and superannuation Bcheme promised by the Labour Party before the general election. In a statement to the Standard, the Minister of Health, the Hon. P. Fraser, makes it clear that the inquiry will be very comprehensive, covering health insurance systems in all countries of the world, and that no legislation will be brought down in the coming session. "The committee," Mr. Fraser states "will meet representatives of the nursing, medical and dental professions. The systems of other parts of the world will be examined, and what is best in them and suitable to New Zealand conditions will be adopted." Co-ordinating Activities An endeavour must be made to co. : ordinate the similar work now being i done by the friendly societies with the wider national undertaking. Provision must also be made for hospital treatment, maternity care and the convalescence of patients. The Minister expects to receive very shortly a detailed ' account of the preliminary work carried ■ out under the late Government. Representatives of the Government and the Health Department will meet from time to time representatives of the rnedicpl and related professions, the Hospital Boards' Association, tha friendly societies and others affected After various views have been sub-' mitted and considered it may be necessary for a joint committee to be called together before the actual legislation ia framed. Economic Legislation First As all future social legislation, of which the national insurance schema will be an important part, must be conditioned by the measure of success attending the Government's financial and economic proposals, the latter must first be put into statutory form. The Minister anticipates that financial and economic measures will occupy practically the whole time of the next* session, and that it will be quite impossible to deal with specifically social legislation. A considerable amount of information on social insurance was collected bj a departmental committee which was set up by the late Government, and which presented its report to Parliament last year. The committee was instructed to consider national compulsory schemes for contributory pensions and health insurance. Its report referred to existing compulsory contributory schemes in 27 countries, but mentioned that these applied in general to specified industries or groups of workers, and in a small number of cases to all persons within specified age-limits. Mr. Coates' Estimate The committee stated that in regard to health insurance and superannuation the information available was not comprehensive enough for a reliable estimate of the actuarial cost to different age-groups. It recommended that consideration be deferred until more information had been obtained. In regard to unemployment insurance, it stated that in a jferiod of great changes in economic conditions there was no reliable basis on which the risks of un- ; employment could be computed. Until conditions had been stabilised for some J time it would be better to make proj vision through taxation.

In his Budget speech, the then Minister of Finance, f-he Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, stated that to provide a universal pension of £2 a week after 6-5 and other allied benefits would cost the State not less than £12,000.000 a. year, equal to 60 per cent of the present revenue from taxation. However, he believed that it should be possible to - devise a contributory scheme that would bring the cost to the State down to & reasonable yearly amount.