OLD-AGE PENSIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23442, 5 March 1938, Page 9

OLD-AGE PENSIONS

RESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATION COST OF EXTENSION NEIGHBOURHOOD OF £220,000 (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Mar. 4. The cost of additional pensions provided under the Pensions Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the House of Representative. t night, and which extends the residental qualification for pensioners, will be in the neighbourhood of £220,000. This was indicated by the Minister of Pensions (Mr W E. Parry) when moving the second reading of the Bill to-day. Mr Parry repeated that the new Bill would make provision for between 3700 and 4000 new pensioners who nreviously had depended on chafity The idea behind the Bill was that it was no use New Zealand attempting to find markets in other parts of the world when there were people here who still had to be fed Now nearly 4000 more people had the option of coming to the State for pensions, and Would be entitled to draw pension at the rate of £1 2s 6d a week under the old-age pensions scheme The cost of this would mount approximately to £220,000. The distribution of such a sum would increase the»circulation of money in the community, Mr Parry said, and so would increase trade. There was no doubt whatever that goods were available in the community for this increase in trade. The people who-would benefit were already a charge on the community, but the question before the House was whether they should be kept in decent comfort or be allowed to g< to charity by back-door methods. The effect of the new pension qualifications on unemployment was mentioned by the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash). It was evident from what the Minister said that a big proportion of those who would benefit would be unemployed. Mr Nash said that those people who came to New Zealand before 1918 got the pension to-day. Those who came between 1918 and 1928 were not getting it, and now they were to get it. In 'a period of five years some 70,000 people; had been brought to New Zealand by a previous Government. Unemployment was then existing, and the action of the Government of the day had extended its difficulties when the slump came. Mr Nash said that those people had come at the invitation of the Government in response to representations that they could secure work at £7 a week and that homes would be found for them. Now that they were here it was only right they should be provided for and saved the humiliation of having to go to hospital boards for dSSlstcl TIC 6 Mr S. G. Holland (Opposition, Christchurch North): Did the Government tell them they could earn £7 a week? ; - , Mr Nash: Yes. It was the most lying and malicious propaganda that went out of this country. It was issued by the Immigration DepartMr Nash added that they wou'd like to assist all who were here now, but there were limits to what the Government could do. It was estimated that about 3000 of the claimants would come from those at present on the unemployed register. Supporting the Bill, Mr R. A. Wright (Independent, Wellington Suburbs) expressed regret that the Minister had not considered the position of women between 50 and 60 years of age. In his experience, there were scores of women between those ages who were in difficulties. They were regarded as too old to do ordinary domestic work or to go into factories and were left as a charge, upon the community. "What a* remarkable thing it is to hear a former minister of the Crown • talking about what should be in this Bill," said the Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage). The present Minister has gone miles ahead of anything I have ever heard by the member for Wellington Suburbs'suggesting in this House, and still he thinks that we have not gone far enough. This is only filling in a gap We hope to have something better for the old people of this country, and it will come during the life of this Parliament. The honourable gentleman can take that from me." ,Mr H. Atmore (Ind.. Nelson) said he would like to bring up again a plea he made on the first reading, that old age pensioners should have the disability removed that attached at present whenever they went outside the Dominion on a trip.

The Leader of the Opposition (Mr A. Hamilton) said the Prime Minister gave the impression that' nothing had ever been done in pensions before the present Government arrived. New Zealand very likely had the most advanced pensions system in the world when this Government came in. Mr Hamilton asked what was the special reason for giving a special privilege to persons residing in New Zealand at this particular period and at no other. Mr Parry: We don't want to nakt i dumping ground in New Zealand Mr Hamilton: There will be a special privileged few w' o will get their pension in 10 years. - Mr Parry: We are legislating' for the citizens of New Zealand now not for those who may come here.

Mr Hamilton: If the Minister was reducing the residential limit from 20 years to 10 years of general 'and continuous applicatipn then that would be understood Mow he is putting it down to 10 years for 9 p- rticular period and then he goes back to 20

Mi Parry: We will reduce it to 10 years when we can «nter into - reciprocal arrangements with the rest of the Empire. Approval of the reduction ot Me residential qualification for old-age pensioners to 10 years in the case of applicants at present living in the iminion was expressed by Mr ""' A. Bodkin (Opposition, Central Otago). Mi Bodkin said the Bill would not impose any greater liability or the people generally but would only transfer the liability He commended the Government for intro ducing the Bill, and said the whole history of the pensions legislation in New Zealand was a definite record ff progress He gave the Government full credit for liberalisinp U ' nension laws

Replying to the debate, the Minister of Interna] Affairs (Mr Parry > thanked members "or the reception accorded the Bill.to prevent the Dominion from becoming a dumping ground for the people from other countries. The Bill was read a second time.