LOANS GRANTED TO SERVICEMEN

Southland Times, Issue 25502, 24 October 1944, Page 4

LOANS GRANTED TO SERVICEMEN

Local Control To Be Established DISTRICT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES Control of rehabilitation loans is to be decentralized. This was stated by the Minister of Rehabilitation, Mr Skinner, yesterday. “We are going to do something which has never been attempted in New Zealand before, by any Government, or bank or other financial organization,” said Mr Skinner in a statement to The Southland Times. \ “In order to improve the process of rehabilitation we are going ,to decentralize by the establishment of district executives with power to

authorize all forms of financial as-

sistance by way of loans.” The new method would begin' in Auckland on November 1, said Mr Skinner. It would be extended to Christchurch early in December, and to other centres, such as Dunedin, Invercargill and Hamilton early in the new year. Ultimately, and as soon as practicable, district executives would be established in the branch districts of the State Advances Corporation for greater convenience and expedition. UNANIMOUS DECISIONS

The new executives would be empowered to authorize all loans, provided that the decisions were unanimous, failing which a case would have to be referred to the Rehabilitation Loans Committee for direction, said the Minister. The confirmation of the Loans Committee would also have to be obtained before a loan application could be declined by a district executive. All decisions dealing with loans would have to be reported by the district executives to the Loans Committee, which would issue any general directions if such a course were necessary.

“The personnel of district executives will include representatives of the State Advances Corporation, the Minister of Rehabilitation, and the local rehabilitation committees,” said Mr Skinner. “One of the three will be appointed chairman by myself, as Minister of Rehabilitation, in consultation with the Minister of Finance. “Arrangements have been concluded for the establishment of a district executive at Auckland from November 1, and the experience gained in this district will be utilized in the establishment of executives in the other appropriate centres.” IMPORTANCE OF WORK “We have been criticized by many people, including the Returned Services Association, for the delay in setting up this decentralized organization,” said Mr Skinner, “but I would point out that it is not a matter that can be easily or lightly disposed of. In view of the tremendous importance of the job of rehabilitating our servicemen and women, we had to be quite certain the system would work for their benefit, and that we would be getting the best possible men to sit on the district executives. Millions have been spent, and many more millions will be spent before we restore the members of our armed forces satisfactorily to their places in civil life, and, quite apart from the question of safeguarding the ordinary tax-paying community who are finding the money, we must above all consider what is best for the man or woman requiring assistance. For his or her own sake we must be reasonably sure that the type of assistance asked for is in the interests of the applicant as well as of the nation.

“It would be nothing short of cruelty to give a man a loan of several thousand pounds for a farm before ensuring as far as possible that he has a reasonable chance of success,” concluded the Minister. “If, through lack of training or suitability he fails badly, it is going to discourage and retard him probably for life. We must have adequate safeguards against that sort of thing, no matter to what extent we decentralize. It would be better to take a week to settle one man securely, than to place six men hastily and with doubts about their ultimate success.”