REHABILITATION
NEEDS OUTLINED FIRST MEETING OF COUNCIL MR SEMPLE ON CARPENTERING (By Telegraph.—Press Association) WELLINGTON, Thursday Many phases of re-establishment of returned soldiers in civil life were discussed today at the first meeting of the Rehabilitation Council. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, and the Minister ol National Service, the Hon. R. Semple, addressed council members an broad questions of policy. Mr Fraser specially mentioned nurses, V.A.D.’s and others whose interests would become the particular consideration of one woman member of the council, Mrs S. Macdonald, who had had much experience. The deputy-chairman, Mr M. J. Moohan, said the training of disabled men was very important and urgent. “ I think,” he added, “the next question of importance is housing and furniture. There seems to be an idea that men coming back from the war want a job. They do not want a job at all straight away. They will have a few bob in their pockets and have had a pretty tough time and the best we can offer them is a house and furniture. That will have to be done before we have 20,000 or 30,000 on our hands wanting houses all at once.” Mr Semple agreed that one of the major problems was housing. “We must also take returned soldiers whose health permits and train them to build homes later,” he said. “ We extend these training schools all over the country. The idea of taking five years to make a finished carpenter is stupid in the extreme. You can make a carpenter out of a man with a normal brain in 12 months. Machines do the work which at one time made a man a finished carpenter.” Mr Semple said the first task was to deal with those who have been discharged, and the second was to provide a long-range plan for the time when men come back in thousands. Every member of the council spoke, the idea being that it was essential for a start, that members should know the views of one another before the council dealt with specific questions of rehabilitation.
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Bibliographic details
Waikato Times, Volume 130, Issue 21653, 13 February 1942, Page 2
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348REHABILITATION Waikato Times, Volume 130, Issue 21653, 13 February 1942, Page 2
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