WAR’S GRIM LEGACY

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1932, Page 3

WAR’S GRIM LEGACY

AUSTRALIA’S HEAVY BURDEN. OVER 70,000 DISABLED MEN. h £ £ Sydney, November 10. Remarkable figures revealing how vitally the war affected Australia have been given by the Minister of Repatriation, Mr. Marr. He said that in the .... Commonwealth to-day there were 75,000 soldiers, all incapacitated in a larger or . smaller degree, whose injuries were accepted as being due to war service. That had been the average figure for the last 12 years, and' the cost of medical treatment had now reached £2,250,000. Apart from pensions, the total cost of repatriation and medical treatment to date was £18,750,000. Mr. Marr said that to-day Australia was paying 274,111 war pensions, made up of 75,645 to incapacitated soldiers, 31,691 to dependants of deceased soldiers, and 166,846 fo dependants of incapacitated soldiers, involving an annual ha- < - bility of approximately £7,000,000. Since ) . the inauguration of war pensions Australia has paid out in that regard £lO4,- v--000,000, which, together with repatriation and medical treatment figures, made ■ the total expenditure,'including the administration expenses of the Repatriation Department, £125,000,000. . . Large as the figure mentioned might appear, said Mr. Marr, it did not nearly represent the amount spent since the cessation of hostilities as a result of the war. Additional expenditure comprised £29,000,000 on war service homes—homes for returned men, £27,000,000 in war gratuities, and a further £35,000,000 ad-. vanced by the Commonwealth to the States for the financing of soldier settlements. The burden of the war would be with Australia for many years to come, although there was every indication now that the peak had been reached. In the circumstances it is not surprising that the Federal Government should have been seeking some way by-which the financial burden could be eased. Politicians have stated so often that they would remain loyal to the promises that have been made to returned men, that, no one has been brave enough to suggest that there should be a cut in the pensions and allowances.- Still a further appeal has been made to the patriotic side of those ex-soldiers who are still entitled to draw pensions, but who have found satisfactory positions. It has been suggested that those who are in .constant employment might refrain from claiming what is their right, and in New South Wales at least 100 men have agreed. The saving in this direction is not great, but ■ ' , may grow as time goes on.