EX-SERVICEMEN

Southland Times, Issue 21219, 21 October 1930, Page 8

EX-SERVICEMEN

CAUSE ESPOUSED

CIVIL RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF DISABLED

BILL PASSED

(Per United Press Association;)

Wellington, October 20,

The debate on the report .of tne ExSoldiers Rehabilitation Commission was initiated in the House of Representatives this afternoon by the Leader of the Opposition (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) wno said that there was ample evidence of the need for early action. A valuable link had been lost when the Reparations Department had become me'rged with the Pensions Department. Medical men were definitely of the opinion that disabled men would be better off if suitable,, work were found for them than if they were granted pensions. Another very important pnase of the problem was that ot reciprocity between New Zealand and Great Britain. It was important that a more simple arrangement should be made to ensure that ex-lmperial soldiers resident in New Zealand should get the same treatment as they would have had in the event of their remaining, in the Old Country. He said he hoped that it would be possible to arrange for more, sympathetic treatment by the British Government. He urged the Government to extend the general administration of the Department to the full extent recommended by the commission. What was required was complete reclassification of the men and an endeavour to find work wherever possible. It was incumbent on State Departments to carry a fair quota of the responsibility in regard to the employment of returned soldiers. These men should, provided they did their work well, be last to suffer unemployment. Civil Re-establishment League. Mr W. ,E. Barnard (L., Napier) said that despite the years that had elapsed since the war, it was evident that there was stid a very large problem to be faced. There was no doubt that if a civil re-establish-ment league were set up on the lines recommended by the commission or on cognate lines, it would do much to improve administration of economic pensions. It should promote better consideration of the individual needs of each pensioner and eliminate the number of unpleasant features of examination of appellants for pensions. The Bill which had been introduced by the Government was no doubt only the first step and when Cabinet was prepared to go further in the matter, he felt sure it would have the support of all parties in the House. Mr F. Waite (R., Clutha) thanked the Government for bringing down -what he regarded as a substantial instalment of legislation necessary to meet the problem of.rehabilitation. He also paid a tribute to the work of the Returned Soldiers’ Association which he believed was largely responsible for the Bill having been brought forward. Referring to reciprocal arrangements with Britain, he said he hoped that something more would be done for ex-lmperial Army men. One of the difficulties at the present time was the refusal of the British Government to accept the finding of the ' New Zealand Medical Board. Mr T. W. McDonald (U., Wairarapa) also congratulated the Government on bringing down the Bill which, he said, was approved by returned soldiers’ organizations throughout the Dominion. Mr W. D. Lysnar (R., Gisborne) said that something should be done to relax legislative restrictions with respect to attributability. The Government’s Bill did not go far enough, and he hoped that it would enlarge its scope. Mr A. M. Samuel (R., Ohinemuri) said’ that the most significant sentence in the commission’s report stated that sympathetic interest in the returned soldier was tending to wane and that was a reproach on the country. He deplored dismissal of exsoldiers who had been employed as casuals in the railway service. The Government might at least have given them a little better treatment than that. Waning Interest Evident. The leader of the Labour Party (Mr H E. Holland) said that waning interest and sympathy in the returned soldier was becoming more and more evident. It had been emphasized that the best men had gone to the front and if ex-servicemen showed as great a tendency to ill-health as those who had not served, a prima facie case had been made out in their interests. The very fact that the State had taken these men for service established their claim lor a pension. He was glad that the commission recommended the widening of the definition of returned soldier so as to include South African veterans. However, the Bill did not go far enough in the case of South African men. The recommendation that the old .age pension limit should be brought down to sixty was a good one and was one that should in due time be extended to al! those in laborious occupations. It was essential, he continued, that a fair standard of living should be given to every returned soldier. He should be given an opportunity to work and there should be no fear of being thrown out of employment. Mr W. S. Endean (R., Parnell) stated that the Bill was a belated effort on the part of the Government to deal with the problem of the returned man. Mr D. G. Sullivan (L., Avon) said that the Bill was inadequate as an expression of the commission’s report and he stressed the need for development of secondary industries so that employment could be found for returned men.

Mr W. Downie Stewart (R., Dunedin West) said that the chief value of the commission's report was that it recognized the cardinal principle that employment must be found for disabled men, not because of the inadequacy of their pensions but because -of the psychological aspect. While it might be true that public sympathy was not as alert as it had been in the early post war days, the claims of returned men were being guarded by the Returned Soldiers’ Association which, by the admirable standard it had set, had gained public confidence. The interests of ex-servicemen were, also being guarded by patriotic societies and public-spirited people. Mr R. McKeen (L., Wellington South) paid a tribute to the report of the commission and said that it was not for the Government to give effect to the recommendations.

Mr J. Linklater (R., Manawatu) said that ‘an important aspect of the report was the recognition that a returned soldier was entitled to better treatment and he thought that view was shared by all members of the House.

Mr R.-Semple (L., Wellington East) said that the Government would be failing in its duty if it did not give fuller recognition to the rights of ex-servicemen.

Mr H. M. Rush worth (C.,- Bay of Islands) said that the New Zealand Government had treated the returned soldiers pretty well. He thought that the treatment in New Zealand had been somewhat better than in any other of the belligerent countries.

The House adjourned at 5.30 and resumed at 7.30.

Moving the second reading of the Disabled Soldiers’ Civil Re-Establishment Bill, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe said that the idea of the measure was to attach to the Pensions Department an organization which would endeavour to find suitable work for disabled men and also enable them to. take up vocational training. The question of attributability would be dealt with in the Finance Bill. The Bill at present before the House, however, would, he hoped, provide means of meeting the cases of men who were only now "breaking up” as the result of war service. The Government was not yet in a position to do all that it could to help returned men, but the Bill would do something. In fact, if it were sympa-

thetically and sensibly administered he felt that very much could be done under its provisions., Mr Waite eaid that while ex-servicemen throughout the Dominion were very thankful to the Government for the substantial assistance it was giving, they would have been glad if it had been possible for the measure to have been applied to all exservicemen, namely, all those who had been comrades in the war, no matter from what part of the Empire they had come so long as-they were now resident in the Dominion. *

Mr Barnard said he had noted with satisfaction that the Minister’s remarks indicated that the Government contemplated doing' more for disabled returned soldiers.

Mr R. A. Wright (R., Wellington Suburbs) said that the Bill was in the right direction and he felt sure the Minister would have no difficulty in getting it placed on the Statute Book. Mr E. J. Howard (L., Christchurch South) expressed the opinion that nearly everything recommended by the commission could be obtained under the provisions of the Bill so long as it was sympathetically administered. Jfr Samuel said that if the Bill had the effect of reviving public sympathy with disabled ex-servicemen, it would have achieved something. War Strain Recognized. Mr Rushworth said that it was only with the passage of years that the strain of the war began to make itself felt and it was gratifying to know that this was being recognized. If the Bill had included New Zealand men who had served with the Imperial forces, it would have been more valuable. There were many New Zealanders who had served in the Navy and Air force and they were entitled to the benefits of the Bill. The Bill was a step in the right direction and he hoped that the day would come when it would be' recognized that peace had its heroes as well as war and that those who had borne the brunt of ordinary life, would also be provided for. Mr A. W. Hall (R., Hhuraki) said that the manner in which the provisions of the Bill would be carried out would determine whether the debate had been wasted. Mr Sullivan asked where work for the men wasMo be obtained. This was one of the most important Mr Lysnar expressed the opinion that the Civil Re-establishment Board should be given extra power to enable it to interpret the will of Parliament.

Mr W. J. Bolson (1., Stratford) suggested that men who were unable to engage in ordinarily arduous farm duties would be able to make a success of bee-keeping. Mr H. E. Holland said he was sorry that more of the commission’s recommendations had not been included in the Bill. However, it was ■ a matter for thankfulness that a start had been made and once the Bill was on the Statute Book various Governments would be able to widen its scope from time to time as their timidity 'decreased.

After the Minister had replied to the debate, the Bill was read a second, time, put through committee without amendment and passed*