WAR AND PENSIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 7 April 1931, Page 9

WAR AND PENSIONS

PAYMENTS IN AUSTRALIA.

REMARKABLE “GENEROSITY?

A portion of the Australian Auditor* General’s report relating to war pensions reveals a remarkable state of affairs.

Investigation by audit officers showed, that so-called “ex-soldiers” who had never seen- a shot fired, says the Melbourne Age, and whose disabilities—if any—could not by any stretch of imagination be ascribed to war injuries, have received thousands of pounds of the taxpayers’ money and many instances are quoted of huge payments, which are still being made to families of these persons.

Most of these large sums of money have been granted by an expensive body termed an Entitlement Tribunal, the members of which have no medical experience. The Auditor-General states that the appointment of a lay tribunal to deal with matters of a purely medical nature has resulted in the payment of pensions and large \sums in arrears altogether beyond what was contemplated by Parliament. The Auditor-General points out that the total expenditure on Australian war pensions is £7,919,476. There is a constant increase in the number of pensions in force and the amount paid in pensions annually. Last year there was a increase of £184,500 in expenditure and the number of pensions, including dependants, increased, by 6650, to 279,285. One of the reasons for the increase may be ascribed to successful appeals to pension tribunals which are presided over by laymen —not doctors. The administrative; costs of these tribunals—over £23,ooo—for the year, are tersely described by the Auditor-General as “very great.” For instance, the Entitlement Tribunal alone cost £9726 last year. The chairman of this body eceives £1750 a year, and two other members each get £1250.. This tribunal adjudicates on cases already dealt with by the Repatriation Commission, and it frequently dispenses pensions with a lavish hand when the medical .authority has rejected them. "Over 36 per cent, of the appeals brought before this tribunal during the year were successful. Some of the cases quoted by the Audi-tor-General are as follow: — An eX-soldier applied for a pension nine years after his discharge from the army, and the commission rejected his claim. However, the Entitlement Tribunal accepted his claim arid granted him and his wife pensions of 84s and 3bs a week. Subsequently, the ex-soldier applied for arid received the following benefits: Attendant’s allowance (20s a week), invalid ehair( £ll 10s), motor transport for recreation (£lO a month), free travelling on tramways,- free railway facilities. _ The inspector of Commonwealth investigation reported: “A perusal of this man’s file induces a feeling of incredulity and amazement that a man who had no front-line service at the war, who never saw a shot fired, who was discharged fit, who followed his occupation as a miner and who was rejected for pension benefits by departmental experts, should be the cause of such staggering expense to the community. Arrears amounting to £159 were also granted to this person.’ • ±3 In another "case a man was granted arrears of £lO5O, although his claim had been rejected by .the Repatriation Commission.’The man’s-disease-did-not re-sult-from his war service. Another case quoted was that of a man .who had a double amputation. He was refused a claim for a free motor-car on the ground that it would be-danger-ous for him to drive one. Later he met his death as a result of a motor-car accident in. 1928. The tribunal decided that his death was due to war service, and granted his widow an increase of pension from 36s to 84s. Arrears amounting to £7O were also .paid. An ex-soldier who was receiving a 33 per cent, pension for “neurasthenia” died as a result of the injuries received when he fell into a pit in Australia in 1927. The widow claimed a pension as a result of her husband’s .death “as due to war service.” The Repatriation Commission rejected the claim. The Entitlement Tribunal accepted the claim, and the pensions of five, children were increased from 33 per cent, to 100 per cent., and the widow's pension from 12s to 84s a fortnight. Arrears dating from October, 1927. to the amount of £336 were alsb paid over. • '■ 7. m ' As a result of these successful appeals to the Entitlement Tribunal arrears of pensions totalling £71,829 were! paid last year, and an additional annual war pension expenditure of £24,712 has been incurred. How many similar cases hay® occurred ,iu previous years is pot div closed: