THE DENTAL BURSARIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25660, 7 October 1944, Page 6

THE DENTAL BURSARIES

The Minister of Health floundered very badly when he was challenged in Parliament on Thursday night and again yesterday oyer the issue of a dental bursary to a person who had been a military defaulter and had, because of his recalcitrance, served a term in prison. Rather pathetically Mr Nordmeyer pleaded that, as the matter of this bursary had been “ flogged ” once or twice, no good purpose was to be served by further discussing it. He omitted to mention, however, that he had not given any explanation of the bestowal of a bursary on this individual. It was with good reason, therefore, that the Opposition pressed for information concerning what Mr Macdonald, member for Mataura, did not hesitate to describe as “ an arrant piece of political jobbery.” The public will not be disposed to regard this as unduly harsh criticism, even though it learns, from the Minister’s belated confession, that it was not known, when the bursary was allotted, that the recipient of it was a military defaulter. There are discrepancies in the references that were made in the House yesterday to the miserable business, and there are features about it that must leave some confusion in the minds of those who view it dispassionately. Mr Nordmeyer says that not only did he not know, as he should have known when he was bestowing benefits, that this man was a defaulter, but also that he did not know his politics. But it seems most probable that someone in a position of some authority must have known, and the implication is hardly escapable that influence was exerted on his behalf. At any rate, it is clear that the bursaries were granted without sufficient inquiry on the part of the department into the history of the applicants for them. The whole plan under which the bursaries were allotted was, as we have contended in the past, one that exposed itself to the danger of abuse such as has been shown to have occurred in the particular case which has been discussed in Parliament.