SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN

Southland Times, Issue 23540, 21 June 1938, Page 8

SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN

MR NORDMEYER’S OUTLINE

Free Health Service Supported

SUPERANNUATION AND ITS BENEFITS

The keen interest of the public in the Government’s social security proposals was revealed by the big audience which attended the meeting in the Victoria Hall last night to hear an address by the Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer, M.P., for Oamaru, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee set up to consider the Government’s proposals. There was an audience of about 400 which gave an attentive hearing to a vigorous and detailed outline of the national health and superannuation scheme. A resolution of thanks and confidence in the Government received unanimous support. The Mayor (Mr John Miller) presided. Mr Nordmeyer explained that he was speaking not as a member of the Parliamentary Committee which had considered the Government’s proposals and had heard evidence on the scheme, but as a member of the Government. The report of the committee would be laid on the table of the House of Representatives and until then its recommendations could not be disclosed. Although the report and the legislative proposals under consideration by the Government would require some alterations to the original scheme anything that he said must not be taken as the opinion of the committee.

“The Government’s proposals on national health and superannuation are so comprehensive and are destined to play such an important part in the social and economic life of our country that it behoves every citizen to attempt to understand them and to offer criticism where criticism is needed, for the Government is anxious that where flaws exist in the scheme they should be pointed out before the scheme is brought into existence,” said Mr Nordmeyer. One of the greatest assets of a nation was healthy boys and girls and men and women and not the savings or financial wealth of the people. If the community’s asset lay in human beings it followed that anything to improve the health of those people tended to increase the value of that asset. One of the discoveries of the age was that risks could be spread at a comparatively small cost. The people of New Zealand spent £2,000,000 annually on fire insurance at trifling cost to individuals to spread the risk of heavy loss from fire. It was also possible to spread the cost of treatment for health in the same way. Some individuals or families had a disastrous time from sickness, while others were more lucky and had little need of doctors and hospitals. The Government recognized the importance of spreading the cost of health because medical costs fell unexpectedly and frequently came at a time when the family or the individual could not meet the expense. The very poor did not need to worry much for neither a doctor nor a hospital board expected them to pay for treatment, but there was no class on which the expense fell more heavily than the middle, class because doctors and hospital boards expected them to pay the whole of the cost of treatment for sickness.

SUCCESS OF ENGLISH SCHEME

A health insurance scheme had been introduced in England some years ago and in a recent statement Sir Henry Brackenbury had said that on the whole the results had been beneficial to doctors and patients and any proposal to do away with the scheme would meet with strong opposition. This was significant, said Mr Nordmeyer, because when Mr Lloyd George inaugurated the scheme, the doctors opposed it, passed resolutions throughout the country condemning it, and tried to stimulate public opinion against it. After it had been in operation they passed a resolution almost without dissent favouring its continuance and expansion. . Surely it was time for New Zealand to evolve a scheme to fit its national ideas and ideals. The Government was not breaking new ground. It had the experience of other countries; a hospital system partially controlled by the State, and the experience of friendly societies in the Dominion. On that experience it had tried to evolve a scheme and when that scheme was properly understood he believed it would be appreciated by the public as one of far-reaching and progressive importance. In other countries a start had been made with the provision of free medical service for the lowest-salaried class. The Government considered, however, that this was not in keeping with the democratic traditions of the Dominion and had decided that there should be no salary bar in the obtaining of benefits. Betause general practitioners were capable of dealing with 80 per cent, of the ailments of the community, the Government had announced that the general practitioners’ services would be free to all members of the community. The Government said that medical attention should be as universal as education, and that every person should receive the best the practitioner could give irrespective of his income or status in life The Government proposed to set aside £1,210,000 to pay the doctors, who would attend to the needs of the individual. The individual would be free to choose his own medical man, and to change his doctor after three months if he wished. The practitioner would have the right not to have any particular patient on his list. There was no suggestion that this scheme would mean a diminution in the average doctors income for the aggregate return to the profession would be greater than at present. The State wished to make its own arrangements for medical service on the expiry of existing contracts between doctors and friendly societies.

REDUCED HOSPITAL RATING

Free hospital or sanatorium treatment would be available to all, and the Government proposed to pay 6/- a day for each patient. The average fees collected by the hospital boards amounted to 2/8, so that the payment of 6/- by the Government would mean a substantial saving to the boards, and the burden on local bodies would be relieved. The Oamaru Hospital Board collected an average of 3/- a day a bed and would receive double the present patients’ fees; the Otago board collected 3/2 and the Southland board 3/4 so the revenue of the boards would be materially assisted. In the aggregate the saving to hospital boards would be £550,000 a year, and to local bodies £275,000, and the rates for hospital levies should go down approximately one-third. It was also proposed to pay the same rate of 6/- to private hospitals, so that a patient in a private hospital would have £2 2/a week towards the payment of his fees. Relations were now expected to pay, if they were able, towards the cost of upkeep of inmates in mental hospitals, but

the Government felt that this should not be the responsibility of the individual, and treatment in mental institutions would be free. Last year, the estates of patients and relations found £155,000 towards the cost of medical treatment. It was also proposed to provide for free medicines and appliances for the individual, and to pay doctors £5 and £lO a confinement towards the charges of midwives or maternity homes, so that in maternity cases the individual would be relieved of the responsibility of these amounts. For free medicines an average of 7/- a head a year was allowed, costing £560,000. Grants would be made to Plunket Societies to enable them to carry on their work, and when the men and organization were available, specialist and consultant, anaesthetic, and transport services to and from hospitals would be free. There was also the need for the extension of the dental services, and optical services as benefits under the scheme. Where practicable, free home nursing would be provided for, and subsidiary to the nursing services, another service would be instituted under which girls would receive sufficient training to enable them to go into the average home to give a patient attention under the direction of a district nurse or medical practitioner, ine Government would also conduct an intensive educational health campaign, emphasizing the importance of diet, right living and thinking, believing that prevention was better than cure, and that it was possible to imnrove the health of the community, so that the individual would not need medical attention.

COST OF PENSIONS It was proposed to increase the invalidity pension from £1 to £1 10/- a week, with a maximum of £4. The invalidity pension had already been ot inestimable benefit to the community, and the extension would be welcomed by all right-thinking people. It was estimated that 11,700 people would receive this pension at a cost of £1,050,01)0 which was £300,000 more than at present. Many men on sustenance were not fit for hard work and would be better receiving disability benefit, and following on the lines of the Returned Soldiers’ Rehabilitation League, those m receipt of disability benefit would be required to attend classes and train to earn a livelihood. For sustenance or unemployment relief, £1,500,000 had been set aside, and the rate would be the same, except that the rate for .each child, now 4/-, would be raised to 5/-. Provision had been made for benefits at an estimated cost of £1,000,000 where it could be shown that the illness had caused loss of earnings. It was proposed to increase the widows’ pensions to £1 5/- a week and 10/- for each child, and to continue the allowance for the children until they reach 16 years of age, and, provided the child was still at school, and it was fitting that the child should be at school, to continue the allowance to 18 years. A widow had formerly lost the pension when the youngest child had 1 reached 15 years, and had found it very hard to earn a livelihood, and the Government proposed to continue the pension at £1 a week. Further, all widows who reached the age of 50 years, provided they had been married 15 years, would receive a pension of £l, and after 50 years they would receive the same pension provided they had been married • five years. There were 9000 in this class who would benefit at a cost of £450,000. Orphans would receive a pension of 15/-, paid to the nearest relation or to the person willing to look after the child. Under this provision 1200 orphans would benefit at a cost of £50,000. A family allowance of 4/a child a week would be paid for the third and subsequent children, to men whose wages did not exceed £5. a week. Under this provision 67,000 children and 33,000 parents would benefit, and at the outset• the cost would be £700,000. Miners’ pensions would be increased from £1 5/- to £1 10/-, which would cost £105,000, and it was proposed to increase the war veterans’ allowance from £1 to £1 5/-, with 15/- for his‘wife, which would cost £190,000. There would be no alteration in war pensions. There were at present 25,000 returned soldiers receiving £1,600,000.

WIDESPREAD BENEFITS “And now I come to the item about which there has been most controversy and which is probably of the greatest interest to everyone. That is the national superannuation,” said Mr Nordmeyer. • It had been said that it was a scheme for paupers and that it would penalize thrift, but the speaker contended that there were few people in New Zealand who could bring up families, own their homes and possess £lOOO at the age of 60. The scheme was designed to help the people not in such a fortunate position and would also benefit greatly those who were so endowed. It was proposed to pay to men and women at the age of 60 years £1 10/a week, and in addition they would be permitted an income of £1 and accrued capital of £5OO. If a person had capital of £5OO in cash or negotiable bonds, there would be no deduction in his or her pension, nor would there be any on account of his or her home, or of any interest he or she might have in a mortgage on land, so long as the income did not exceed £52 a year. For every £lO in excess of £5OO the pension would be reduced by £l. The Government had looked into various private superannuation schemes and found that some were not superannuation schemes at all for a lump sum was paid to the worker at the end of his service. Men not used to handling much money were suddenly given a big amount to invest and they might easily lose every penny through incautious investment and still become a charge on the State. While some schemes made good provision for ; man in his old age they made no provision for his widow and family if he died early. Apart from the other benefits, he was sure that many men would be prepared to pay the extra cost knowing that their widows and children would be adequately provided for. “The Government has also looked into the affairs of the life insurance companies and a very sorry position is disclosed,” he continued. During the last five years 43,596 ordinary life policies of a face value of £16,088,142 had been allowed to lapse, apart from policies which had been . surrendered and from which the assured persons had received back a portion of their contribution. In the same period 132,722 industrial policies of a face value of £7,054,464 had lapsed. These figures indicated that the individual could not adequately budget for the future because of changing circumstances. There were people who a few years ago were in a sound financial position and who would have scoffed at making provision for their old age, yet today they were almost destitute.

NO COMPULSORY RETIREMENT

Some people thought that the Government would require people to retire at 60, but this was not correct. The Government had no intention of interfering with the right of the individual to continue working if he wished. He was satisfied, however, that there were many men, particularly those who had performed hard manual labour, who would be glad to take advantage of the opportunity to cease work. He estimated that from 15,000 to 20,000 would take advantage of the scheme. This would mean that their place in industry would be taken by

young and vigorous men who should be doing the country’s work. He had always held that it was nonsense to pay sustenance to young men of 20 and compel older men to work until they were 65. The total cost of the Government’s superannuation scheme in the first year would be £6,200,000, but taking into account the cost of present oldage pensions, only £2,300,000 would be required. The total cost of the health and superannuation scheme was £17,850,000, and the amount contributed by way of a tax of 1/- in the £1 on wages would pay almost half. Several questions were asked and in the course of his replies Mr Nordmeyer said that while it was originally intended that the 1/- in the £1 wages tax would be deducted from the superannuation, he thought that, a more favourable proposal had received support from the Government. Females of 40 or 50 who had previously been in employment, but who were too old to work, would qualify for sustenance or disability payments.' The position of a man 60 years of age with a younger wife had been one of the most vexed questions, but the Parliamentary Committee had made recommendations which would deal adequately with the position. Mr Hugh McDougall moved: "That a very hearty vote of thanks to Mr Nordmeyer for his interesting address be passed and that we as electors of this constituency have every confidence in the Labour Party and the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage as its leader.” The motion was carried unanimously. In acknowledging the motion, Mr Nordmeyer said he hoped Invercargill would return Mr W. M. C. Denham at the- next election. He respected Mr Denham very much and knew something of the great work he was doing for his city. In the afternoon Mr Nordmeyer addressed a meeting of women when there was an overflow audience of 150. Mrs Aldridge proposed a vote of thanks which was carried with acclamation.