THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, May 31, 1938. SOCIAL INSURANCE IN AUSTRALIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23514, 31 May 1938, Page 10

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, May 31, 1938. SOCIAL INSURANCE IN AUSTRALIA

The Commonwealth Government’s proposals for the introduction of social insurance in Australia, as an extension of existing social services, are apparently being brought under fire from various quarter:?. While the main opposition is coming from the medical profession, whose members regard the scheme as incomplete and inadequate, there is also spirited objection by the Labour Party, which contends that it does not go far enough in the proposed apportionment of benefits. Following the design of the English scheme, for instance, there is provision for health insurance for the breadwinner only. In Australia insurance for every member of the family has been a feature of friendly society schemes, and it can easily be appreciated that a plan that offers the workers less than they have been accustomed to obtain voluntarily would not arouse an# special enthusiasm. The Australian plan as recently outlined is shown to follow fairly closely the recommendations of Sir Walter Kinnear, of the British Ministry of Health. It is to be compulsory and contributory, and has been planned to cover persons earning less than £365 a year and all manual labourers. Provision is made for the inclusion of voluntary contributors under certain conditions. The financing of the scheme will require equal contributions by employer and worker, with a State subsidy. Thus, men will be liable for weekly contributions of three shillings and women of two shillings, the employer paying half of the sum in each instance. The benefits will include free medical attention and treatment: sickness benefits of twenty shillings a week for men and fifteen shillings for women, with an allowance of 3s 6d a week for each dependent child under the age of 16 years; disablement benefits on a scale slightly less than that for sickness; and a superannuation benefit of 20s a week for men and women. The cost to the State is estimated at £900,000 a year for 35 years for the health scheme and £1,000,000, rising to a maximum of £10,000,000 a year for pensions. The chief problem of administration in Australia consists in the need for covering vast tracts of country as cheaply as possible, for which reason the Government contemplates using the machinery of existing voluntary organisations to the fullest extent. Cheapness of administration must prove to be an important factor, making almost for success or failure. The Government, in deciding for a plan on a contributory basis and with a definite income limit, has been guided by a consideration which has apparently been ignored by the Labour Government in this Dominion, with its ambitious proposals for the payment of high pensions limited by a means test. This consideration is that the burden of a non-contributory scheme must become heavier and heavier. In New Zealand as elsewhere significant changes are taking place in the age distribution. The birthrate is declining and the balance of population is swinging slowly toward the higher age groups! The inevitable effect of that trend must be to saddle a relatively smaller producing group with an ever-in-creasing burden for the maintenance of those reaching pensionable age.