WAR PENSIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11651, 16 October 1923, Page 5

WAR PENSIONS

THE APPEAL BOARD PRESIDENT AND N.Z.R.S.A. NOMINEES APPOINTED. MEDICAL MEMBERS. Under the War Pensions Amendment Act of last session provision was made for the appointment of a War Pensions Appeal Board, consisting of three members. two of whom are to be registered medical practitioners. One of these is t-o represent the members of tho forces on tho nomination of the N.Z.R.S.A., and the other will be nominated by the Government. • Hie Minister for Defence (Sir Heaton Rhodes) now announces that the Government has decided to appoint Sir Frederick Chapman (judge of tho Supreme Court) as president- of the board; but that, instead of two medical men being permanently appointed, and travelling all over the Dominion with the president to hear the oases in the different centres, two medical men—one representing the R.S.A. and the other the Government—will bo appointed in each district. For example, two Auckland doctor,* will act as members of the board when it sit® in Auckland : two Wellington medical men will act when it sits in Wellington ; and ao on. The Government has agreed to the appointment of the following medical men, nominated by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, to act in their respective districts:—Auckland, Dr. W. C. McCaw; Wellington, Dr F. T. Bowerbank; Canterbury, Dr. A. J. Orchard ; and Otago, Dr T. Fergus. GOVERNMENT NOMINEES CHOSEN. The Government’ll medical nominees for each of these districts had been chosen, added the Minister, but until he had been notified that they had accepted their appointments he would not disclose their names. It was considered that under the procedure which the Government was following in establishing the board it would be possible to effect economies in administration, because no inducement would have to be offered to medical men to give up practice in order to take up full-time service with the board. The Southland R.S.A. had suggested that Southland should be constituted a separate district for the hearing of appeals, but the Government had decided that thio suggestion could not be approved. It was intended that the board should do a certain amount of travelling in each of the four districts, as might’be found necessary; and any Southland cases, would therefore be dealt with, if need be on the spot, by the Otago Board.