TRAINING CENTRES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27517, 11 October 1950, Page 8

TRAINING CENTRES

Rehabilitation 'Policy DIFFICULTY OF PROVIDING FOR CIVILIANS PA’ WELLINGTON, Oct. 10. During the discussion on the vote for the Rehabilitation Department in the House of Representatives tonight, the former Minister, Mr C. F. Skinner, said that it should not be planned to reduce - the work of the department. .The trade training scheme for ex-ser-vicemen should be thoroughly examined before it was discarded. The Disabled Servicemen’s Re-establish-ment League’s vocational training centres should be continued and used to their fullest advantage. Mr Skinner said the previous Government had made arrangements to undertake the training of disabled civilians in those trade training centres, but it appeared that the present Government had decided not to go on with that scheme. The present staff of instructors could probably train three times the present number of trainees, if the Government would carry on with the disabled civilians’ scheme. Mr S. W. Smith (Govt., Hobson) said he thought the time had come for an overhaul of the rehabilitation committees. He could not help but feel that the trade training centres had served their purpose. A. relatively small number of trainees was now left, and to maintain 30 instructors for them seemed “just a crazy setup.” Mr W. A. Hudson (Oppn., Mornington) said that nearly 500 disabled servicemen had passed through the centres since their establishment. There were still about 1000 men undergoing treatment in hospitals who had not yet had the opportunity of attending a trade training centre, and provision would have to be made for them.

The Minister of Defence, Mr Macdonald, replying, said that it might sound satisfactory, at a quick look, to use the disabled ex-servicemen’s training centres for disabled civilians, but a great problem was posed when it' came to mixing ex-servicefnen and civilians. If the training of disabled civilians were itndertaken, difficulties would be created for ex-servicemen. Continuing, Mr Macdonald said that the interests of ex-servicemen had been preserved to the full and could best be met by the llague concentrating on their training. 'Answering questions about import licences for exservicemen, he said the fact that many goods were being freed from licensing made it difficult to assure these men of sufficient licences to provide them with a guaranteed income, but if they had used their licences until now to establish the widest possible clientele, as had been recommended, they should have a sound business connection with which to carry on. Mr Macdonald said that in the last eight months of 1949 a total of 2951 applications for loans to build or buy houses had been received from exservicemen. The total for the first eight months in 1950 was 3475. He said that future legislation would undoubtedly have the effect of stimulating the exchange of farms for rehabilitation purposes.