LOST PENSIONS OFFICE

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1929, Page 9

LOST PENSIONS OFFICE

PLEA ON BEHALF OF TARANAKI. MR. SMITH QUOTES HARDSHIPS. (By Wire —Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. A plea for the restoration to the Taranaki province of something of real value which he said had been taken away was made in the House of Representatives to-day by Mr,, S. G. Smith. The whole of the pensions for Taranaki, he said, were controlled from the sub-office in Wanganui and as a result of the loss of the personal touch by the respective registrars under the new arrangement there had been nothing but trouble and annoyance to pensioners. “I want to make a public appeal to the Minister,” said Mr. Smith, ‘‘for a new method and more kindly spirit to bo used in pension cases.” He cited the case of an old lady pensioner who had £24 in the Post Office Savings Bank which she was keeping to pay her own funeral expenses. Her circumstances had been reported upon on more than ten occasions. Last winter she was ill and she drew from her account £6 for medicine and clothing. She received from the pensions office a letter asking for urgent information as to whether she still had the money she had drawn out, whether it had been used and, if so, for what purpose. Mr. Smith submitted that that sort of letter should never have emanated from any Government office. In another case a woman acquired a home for herself by dint of .hard work. She had 25s a week war pension on account of the loss of two sons,-and she also received ■£23 10s a year as an old age pension. She supplemented her income to the extent of 3s a week by sweeping out a church, and by reason of that her pension was reduced by 3s a week. Mr. Smith said these were only two of many similar instances. He made a plea for the appointment of a registrar in Taranaki who would be in a position to know the exact position of the pensioners instead of relying on information supplied by others.