WAR PENSIONS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 306, 20 September 1921, Page 9

WAR PENSIONS

THE PENSIONS BOARD

AND THE PENSIONS APPEAL BOARD

(By

R.S.A.)

Since no provision had been made in the schedule, for (1) the payment of "economic loss"; (2) the pension of dependants; and (3) the pension of some minor injuries and diseases, jiensions payments could not in all cases be paid out machine-like eig per scale. Consequently, in order to deal with all such phases of pensions in a uniform manner, the Government appointed a War Pensions Board in 1915. The personnel of the first board was: —D. G- A. Cooper, S.M. (chairman), Colonel G. F. C. Campbell and Dr. H. Pollen. After Gallipoli nnd the Somme it was at once recognised that thousands of pension c.ses would have to be considered by this board, and at tho instigation of the N.Z.R.S.A. the Government decided to appoint Mr. J. D. Harper, as the Returned Soldiers' Association member of this important board. The N.Z.RS.A. has never regretted its choice, os Mr. Harper is a worthy champion of hie comrades. Some changes have taken place in the personnel of this board, which at present consists of Messrs. Cooper (chairman), Harper, Dr. A. W. Izard, and Mr. G. Faohe, who acta ns secretary and commissioner. The functions of the board are:— (1) To officially .confirm a permanent pension when tho disability of the pensioner becomes fixed. (2) To determine whether a. disability is due to war service or not. (3) To assess temporary pensions if a minor nature, e.g., rheumatism contracted on service. (4) To examine and decide all applications for supplementary pensions. (5) To determine the eligibility of dependants claims, and assess the pensions thereof. The board visits all the principal towns and townships in the Dominion for the above purposes, and it has been estimated that about 3000 cases were brought before the board last year for its adjudication. Of these about 1090 were made permanent. In making its adjudication the board has to consider each soldier's case from tho physical disability standpoint, and also from the "economic loss" point of view, in cases of dependants, and for supplementary pensions. As can be readily imagined, the term "economic loss" gives tho board much thought, as the same disability in different, people causes decidedly different "economic loss,” and it is the duty of the board to even up such cases either by supplementary pension to the soldier, or by the application of a pension to a dependant. The following table shows the results of a. year’s deliberations of tho Pensions Board:—

Number of War Pensions in Force at each Bate on March 31, 1920. ‘On Account of Dleath.

Totals... 2130 23,144 1517 2075 5705 ‘ Recognising that a pensions appeal hoard was necessary fo hear any appeals against the pensions decided upon by the Pensions Board. Mr. A. llnrri\ M. for IVaitemata, introduced a Bill in June, 1920, asking—(l) That a war pension appeal board Ire constituted; (2) that the personnel should consist of a S.M. as chairman and two medical men, of whom one was ,to be nominated by the N. (3) that economic appeals should be heard as well as physical appeals. However, during its passage through tho House tho Bill wag considerably hacked about, and finally emerged as a Government measure in the Finance Act, 1920. The amended Bill laid down the personnel as three medical practitioners, to Ivo appointed by the Defence Minister, and the function of this board was fo be confined to appeals O on physical grounds only. This we consider a mistake, as by' far the greatest, number of malcontents in pension matters is those economically affected. A start has already been made by the Appeal Board, the personnel of which is Drs. J. M. Christie (chairman). Lapraik, and Edie. If the number of appeals is a criterion of the justice and fairness of the Pensions Board, then the bitter has been a success in its work. The following is a resume of the doings of the Appeal Board up to the date of writing this article:— DepenSoldiers. dants. Cases dismissed 117 3 Pension increased 10 Pension reduced 11 Pension reinstated * New grants 'I 1 Pensions made permanent 2 Cases withdrawn 16 Referred to War Pensions Board 1 If tho Appeal Board had the power fo consider appeals on economic grounds it would be a very busy board indeed. The N.y.R.S.A. inlands to ask in the near future that this Appeal Board shall hear pension appeals on general grounds The following table shows the amount , paid out in pensions up to date:— ; From Septem'ber, 1915, to March j Year 1916-17 180,39.1 j

Year 1917-18 510,4L5 Year 1918-19 1,199,7a5 Tear 1919-29 1,812,419 Year 1929-21 1,886,953 .£5,668,771 This represents an average of about X 1,120,600 a year, nud as tho population of New Zealand is, roughly, 1,120,000, exclusive of Maoris, it means that every man, woman, and child in the Dominion is subscribing XI a year through the Government to the widows and children of deceased soldiers, and to the disabled and their dependants. Surely XI per annum per capita is a small enough contribution from a thankful nation; X 5,732,479 was put through the totalisator for the year 1919-20, and probably last year investments exceeded this.

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