NOTES FROM PARLIAMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19364, 22 July 1925, Page 5

NOTES FROM PARLIAMENT

IMPROVING THE PENSIONS "NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME." (By Telegraph.) (From Our Parliamentary Reporter). WELLINGTON, July 21. The first tilt at the National Party (or parties) was made by Mr Parry when endorsing some remarks of Mr Wilford’s on pensions in the House to day “I. want to agree with the Leader of the National Party No. J,” remarked Air Parry. “Number 2,” interjected a member. ‘‘No. 1, 1 understand,” replied Mr Parry, who later said he hoped that “The Nationalist, or at least the Government Party” would improve the pensions law if it got back to power. “Now is the accepted time,” was the burden of Mr Holland’s plea for the amendment of the pensions law this session. “The Minister may not be here next session,” remarked Air Holland yhen contending that the matter should not be left over till next Parliament to be dealt with. “Quito a number of members may not be here,” he added. “I understand the personnel of this Parliament is altered to the extent of about, 25 per cent, every election and nobody knows what the fates have in store for those who are members of the present Parliament. At any rate, the present time is always the best time to make changes that are necessary.”

COST OF PENSIONS

WELLINGTON, July 21. Ihc gross payment in pensions for the year ended March 31, .1925, £2,408,5989, as compared with £2,417,643 in the previous year. The cost per head of the European population showed a reduction of one shilling—£l 16s 4d as against £1 17s 4d. The estimated annual cost of the increased benefits under the. Amending Act of last session was £158,000, but with five months of the first year to go the annual cost actually works out at £131,000.

The classes of the various pensions, and the amounts represented are as follows, the figures for the previous year being given in parenthesis:—War, £1,244,483 (£1,315,560); old age, £BOO,953 (£767,805); widows’, £236,738 (£202,8.18); Maori War, £26,848 (£30,350); miners, £38,506 (£36,084); epidemic, £22,881 (£32,702); Boer War, £3071 (£3146); sundry pensions and annuities, £9327 (£8033); Civil Service Act, 1908, £19,115 (£21,145); Blind, £1036.

JUVENILE STREET SELLERS

WILL PAPER BOYS BE AFFECTED? WELLINGTON, July 21. A clause in the Child Welfare Bill dealing with street trading, was briefly touched upon in the course of a dis cussi; n in the Bouse to-night. The Minister for Education (Sir Jas. Parr) said the Bill gave power to deal with street trading by regulation. He did not know of any other way to deal with the matter properly. When, the Bill went to the Education Committee I the officers of the Department would I give evidence as to what was occurring in the streets as the result of children taking par’, in trading. Unfortunately, investigation showed that a large proportion of boys and «ome girls were engaged in business about, the streets, ai lair hup her of whom w’ro d-’linqm rt. It was impossible to l.} Act with every case end it was thought pretern’»i(> to deal with the marlcr by regain j ticn. The House would have an op pnrtun’ty when the Bill went to the Education Committee io look into tin | matter and to say whether the power I it is proposed to take was too wide. Mr Holland said the question of children trading on the streets would hav * to bo faced. Wherever one went in the cities in New Zealand one found smail ! boys out on the streets selling news- I papers at night, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. He was aware that there was an economic reason, that parents had not always a choice in the matter. and that because the income ol the family was insufficient the chillr-'i practically had to be requisitioned to earn the income. In this country, al any vale, he thought the laws could be so written as to obviate such a reflection on our own social legislation. What applied to small boys in cities now must eventually apply right throughout New Zealand.