TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1756, 1 November 1905, Page 53

TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION.

On the consideration of the report of the committee on the Teachers’ Superannuation Bill by the House of Representatives on Friday, Mr Fowlds moved, “That this House resolves itself into Committee of the Whole for the purpose of considering a respectful address to his Excellency the Governor, praying that provision be made for an annual appropriation of £17,000 to the fund, as recommended by the Education Committee, in order to make the scheme approximately sound.” The Speaker said he would have to rule that the amendment was- out of' order, holding, according to May, that an address to his Excellency could nob be presented in relation to any bill pending in either House of Parliament. Mr Fowlds: That simply means that this House has no power at all to approach his Excellency, except with, the consent of the leader of the House. Mr Seddon: The hem. member has no right to say that. He had plenty of time,to place his motion on the orderpaper. The bill was recommitted, and on the motion of Mr Seddon, a clause was added to make provision for the retention! of the accrued rights of Civil servants (in regard to retiring allowance) who had come into the Education Department. The Minister explained that they had had in the department thoed who were appointed native school teachers, who had their rights in respect to retiring allowance, and the present bill conserved to .these Civil.servants what they were entitled to> under; the Civil Service Act. On the third reading, Mr Massey said it should not be left to posterity to make good the deficiency in the fund* Whilst approving the bill, he thought it was necessary to make provision for placing the fund on a sound basis.

Mr Fowlds moved _ his motion regarding the presentation of an address to his Excellency. He claimed that were it not for the fact that the day t of reckoning was so far off, no Parliament of honest men would pass a bill like this without making provision for the known deficiency in the fund. It was wrong that the people of this generation should not do their duty. Sir Joseph Ward pointed out that the Education Committee had not recommended the raising of the capital (assumed at £400,000). They recommended only that the interest should be paid, that a sum of money should be paid into the fund to meet an imaginary capital. The previous speaker, however, was advocating that, without the security ot the State, money should be borrowed, that the contributors to the fund were to make up the interest upon it, and that they were to bo independent of the House and country* Would they get the teachers to approve that kind of policy ? He did not think so. The only superannuation schemes in the Old World which had done well had first of all been condemned by the actuaries. The railway superannuation fund of the colony at the present time had accumulated funds to the amount of £90,000. Mr Fowlds: You ought to have £900,000. _ , Sir Joseph Ward: Then you done want to have the security of the State at all. Either one or the other is a surplusage. From a common-sense point of view, he could say without hesitation that if they had a superannuation scheme for a service to which a large number of young people were yearly appointed (as in the Education Department), they strengthened the fund in this manner, and this was a fact that certain members overlooked. The security of the State behind the scheme went to make it solid and stable for the beneficiaries. Messrs J. Allen, McNab, and JVTillafl supported the view taken _ by Mrt Fowlds that the scheme should be made actuarially sound from the outset. Replying to criticism that the deficits of the fund would he passed on to succeeding Colonial Treasurers, the Minister for Education said a monument was beino* erected and work accomplished! in the passing of this bill which would! do more for posterity than any road or bridge gvbt* Greeted in Ngw Z0£tl8.no!« The'guarantee of the State behind this scheme was practically equivalent to an annual payniGnfc into til© fund of £17,000. *He hoped ere he left public life ’ that not only would they have such! a scheme for the public servants of thei colony, but that every citizen in the colony would have an opportunity of getting an annuity. Members might smile, but this was much nearer than they imagined, for every step the Government was taking now was going in that direction. In five years’ time from this there would be an actuarial calculation. They would then know the true position, and it would then be for the Parliament of that day to deal with this matter. They could not go very far wrong in taking the responsibility for five years. This year, for the most, there could only be a responsibility of £12,000, because the State was paying £SOOO into the fund this year. He was satisfied the scheme would receive universal approval from the people of New Zealand! The bill was read a third time on the voices and passed. Mr Fowlds's amendmen: was ruled out of order.