PROTEST BEING MADE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 19, 18 October 1943, Page 3

PROTEST BEING MADE

Servicemen’s Children And Allowances The Society for the Protection of Women aud Children is making a strong protest to the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, and the Minister of Defence, Mr. Jones, against the present methods of discrimination in the amount of Government allowance paid for the support of dependent children of men in the Armed Forces. It has been discovered that, whereas the standard allowance for children of married parents is 10/6 a week in addition to the deduction from the soldier’s pay, in the case of illegitimate children much smaller amounts are paid, In some cases the payment has been only 3/6 a week and in one case which came to the society’s notice only 2/3 a week was paid. In this case, the young mother had obtained a Court order for 7/6 a week only because the father was then an apprentice on small pay. When he entered the Army, instead of increasing the payments in accordance with his improved position, the Defence authorities continued to pay her only 7/6, including the Government allowance of 2/3 a week.

The society has urged repeatedly that illegitimate- children should not be penalized, ns their needs and their potential value to society are no less than those in more fortunate circumstances.