TIME RIPE TO MAKE A PROPER BALANCE IN WAR PENSIONS SCALES

Wanganui Chronicle, 9 November 1950, Page 5

TIME RIPE TO MAKE A PROPER BALANCE IN WAR PENSIONS SCALES

PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Last Night (PA>.—There was no indication that there had ever been a balanced approach to matters relating to war pensions, said the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. MacDonald) in the House of Representatives tonight, when he replied to the second reading debate on the War Pensions amendment Bill. The Minister said that ! n seven of the nine years since 1941 war pensions legislation had been brought down and in five of the seven years pension increases amounting to £583,000 were granted. In the other two years the increases involved an expenditure of £1,318,000. It was significant that those two years were election years—in 1943 and 1949. The fact that big increases were made on those occasions might have been coincidence, but, nevertheless, he was satisfied that a Commission of Inquiry into war pensions was highly desirable. WELL-QUALIFIED COMMISSION. All the members of the commission were well qualified to conduct the inquiry, which would begin this month. The whole position concerning war pensions was extremely complex, and it was with the idea of smoothing out those complexities that the Government had acceded to the request of the N.Z.R.S.A. for a Com" mision of Inquiry. War pensions, said the Minister, should be on the fairest possible basis, but should not be used as a political weapon in an election battle, as appeared to have been done in recent years. The thought of deliberately sweetening up pensions in election years was extremely distasteful to him. It should not be thought that the Commission of inquiry was anything in the nature of an appeal board over an appeal board to which individual cases could be presented. The differential rates for widows' pensions according to the rank of the deceased, dated back to 1866, when the first piece of war pensions legislation was enacted. He was sure that that matter would be put to the commission in the course of its hearing the evidence submitted. Mr. Macdonald said he felt strongly that the Government had done the proper thing in. acceding to the N.Z.R.S.A. request that the commission would do valuable work in thoroughly examining the whole war pension system. The War Pensions and Allowances (Mercantile Marine) Amendment Bill wag also given a second reading after an amendment moved by Mr. F. Jones (Opposition, St. Kilda) to defer it for 14 days and thus allow the Government the opportunity of increasing the proposed rates by five shillings instead of 2s 6d, was defeated by 37 votes to 26.

In the committee stage of the War Pensions Amendment Bill, Mr. Jones said the Opposition did not believe the 2s 6d increase was sufficient. The action of the Government in refusing to accept the Opposition amendment was not right. He believed, that anyone who wanted to state his case before the Commisison in Inquiry should be viven the right to do so. The Minister of Education (Mr. Algie): The public will see through the amendment. Mr. S. I. Jones (Govt., Hastings) said that the member for St. Kilda had "pulled out the sympathy." Mr. Watts: Tremolo. Mr. Jones: The public will see through the motive behind the amendment. The ex-servicemen are being used as a pawn to get an increase for all the beneficiaries in the country. He said that any change at present would be taken by the commission as an expression of opinion by the House. Mr. Osborne (Opp., Onehunga): Why the 2s 6d then? Mr. Nash (Acting Leader of the Opposition) said that the House ought to give some expresison of opinion, because the proposed 2s 6d increase was insufficient. The increase should be at least five shillings. He guaranteed that the Government wouM end the year with a surplus of £5,000,000, and the Opposition's proposal would not absorb £1,000,000 of it. The Attorney-General (Mr. Webb): Crocodile tears! Mr. Nash: There are no crocodil® tears in 2s 6d a week. The Prime Minister (Mr. Holland) said that one would admire the argument of the Acting-Leader of the Opposition if he had increased war pensions when he had the opportunity instead of making previous increases in election years. I.ABOI'R DID NOT GRANT REQUEST The Prime Minister said that for years the N.Z.R.S.A. had asked for a Commission of Inquiry into war pensions but their request had never been granted by the Labour Government, but in the new Government’s first year the commission had been set up. He considered it would be entirely wrong and improper for the House to influence the commission. The National Government, so far, had done mor* in the way of war pensions than Labour had in six years, and the Opposition was simply indulging in a polilifal stunt.