MILITARY' PENSIONERS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2389, 19 February 1915, Page 6

MILITARY' PENSIONERS

NEW AND MORE LIBERAL LEGIS- -, ' LATION NECESSARY. , A statement on' the subject of military pensions was made to a Dominion reporter yesterday by the Hon. J. Allen, Minister of Defence.

"We have an. Act 011 the-Statute ißook providing for tho payment of pensions to officers, and men of our army, but the Act needs amendment —it is not liberal enough—and ] hope to have the pleasure of amending it -next session. When we passed pur Naval Defence Act we' simply put into the Act a clause setting forth that pensions should be as prescribed. No regulations under the Act have yet been gazetted, and . I don't kuow that it would be very wise to do anything permanently until we liaye put our military pensions on a proper basis'. If a naval man on our ship, or a man belonging to' the New Zealand Royal Naval Reserve is killed we shall go 011-paying to his wife anil children tho allowances she is now receiving out of the pay allotted by her husband. Wei shall continue these payments until we have fixed up a permanent scheme. The British Government keep up these payments of .allotment money and separation allowances for, 26 weeks after, a man is killed and in the meantime the amount: of the pension due can be assessed. I hopo to put our scheme of military pensions on a more satisfactory footing. lam working on the - scheme now whenever I can'get a- spare moment, and I find-it is rather a big job. I, am'getting information as to what South. Africa, .anada.- and Australia are doing, but it. has not all come to hand yot."