WAR PENSIONS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20100, 2 December 1930, Page 11

WAR PENSIONS.

AUSTRALIAN FIGURES RISING. £7,762,508 A YEAR. (yf-Oii OUli CW» COH3HGSPOXDEXT.) SYDNEY, November 25. Latest Commonwealth figures show that 14 years after the institution of the war pensions system, the number of pensions in force is still rising, and it is admitted by tho officials that the p€ak period cannot be forecasted. This is a serious matter for the Government, for it knows that the public would not countenance for one minute any reduction in the scale o£ pensions. In the circumstances it is almost impossible for the Government to tell what its obligations are going to be. On June 80th last there were 279,285 war pensions in force involving an expenditure to the Commonwealth of £7,762,508 as compared with 272,631 and an annual cost of £7,639,814 for th'.- year ended June 30th, 1929 The r;,pid expansion of the system is shown by comparison with the figures for 1916 and 1924. In 1916 8754 wor pensions were being paid, costing £368,800. By 1921 the figures had risen to 236,761 and the cost to £6,915,761. It is apparent that the war pensions paid to children born of war pensioners are largely responsible for the huge increase in the cost. Of the pensions that are payable at present more than 200,000 are drawn by dependents of pensioners and of deceased meml>ers of the Australian Infantry Force. Only 74,578 former soldiers are on the pensions list. There are 65,242 wives and widows drawing pensions, 110,656 children, 7678 widowed mothers, 16,174 bv other mothers, 3075 by fathers. 697 by brothers and sisters, and 1185 bv "others." The average rate of pensions per fortnight is £1 17s 9d in the case of war pensioners, and 15s 4d for dependents. Thus 170,437 dependents of ur-pensioners and 34.270 dependents of deceased members of the A.I.F. are drawing an average of 15s 4d every fortnight. There has not been a single year since the inception •if the war pensions system in which the number of pensions has not steadily increased. Dunne; the year ended June 30th last, 13,650 new pensions were granted, and only 6442 were cancelled or discontinued. Of the now pensions granted only 1317 went to former soldiers, and 9522 were awarded to children and 2374 to the wires of exsoldiers.