Agreement To Streamline Reciprocal War Pensions

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30957, 13 January 1966, Page 7

Agreement To Streamline Reciprocal War Pensions

(Neu> Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, Jan. 11. The Australian Minister for Repatriation, Senator G. McKellar arrived in Auckland today to complete negotiations for revising the reciprocal war pension and medical treatment agreement between New Zealand and Australia. The Minister in charge of War Pensions (Mr Kinsella) said the revised agreement would save the New Zealand taxpayer about £14,000 a year. This amount would be saved by readjusting the pensions and war benefits. The present agreement was begun in 1930 before the introduction of Social Security. Mr Kinsella said war pensions in the two countries had always been roughly comparable, and no increase would result from the new agree-

ment to be signed this week in Wellington. Senator McKeflar said the present agreement, by which each country paid war pensions and provided medical treatment for war veterans on behalf of the other, needed some streamlining. The new agreement would give New Zealanders a fairer deal. The main alteration would be that Australia was going to average out the money spent on New Zealand veterans living in Australia, and that average would be taken by the New Zealand Government for Australians living in this country.

Senator McKellar said that there were about 560 New Zealand war pensioners permanently resident in Australia and about 340 Australians in New Zealand.