SOCIAL INSURANCE SCHEMES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 178, 14 August 1937, Page 4

SOCIAL INSURANCE SCHEMES

We are all, of course, as yet very much, indeed almost - entirely, in the dark as to our own Government' s schemes of . national health insurance and superannuation. It is, however, pretty generally understood that they are of a very comprehensive character, probably covering the whole population, irrespective altogether of private means and income. It will be with interest therefore that our readers will note from a Canberra message to-day, the much more modest contributing scheme of health insurance that is recommended by a highly competent British authority for adoption in the Commonwealth. It will be seen that This proposal is confined to employees aged sixteen and over who are in receipt of wages or salary not exceeding a stipulated amount. This plan, it is to be noted, is the suggestion made by one specially quali&ed to speak on the subject as being for a start suitable to social and economic conditions in Australia that are not so very different from those obtaining in this Dominion. Sir Walter Kinnear, who submits this plan, has the advantage of being long and intimately acquainted with the working of a similar s.cheme in the Old Country, while it may be assumed that he has taken into account the differences between British and Australian wage scales and standards of living. Above all things he will have had in view the soundness of the financial basis upon which the scheme is to be built up, and it will be readily acknowledged that any scheme which does not give full weight to this essential factor and is therefore liable to break down under the test of time must in the end prove worse than none "at all. This British advfcer, whose aid has been invoked by the Commonwealth Government, goes on to make further suggestions with regard to a collateral contributory scheme of oldage, wi~dows' and orphans1 pensions. As to this the cable gives us no very enlightening details. There are, however, some very impressive figures supplied as to the initial contributions which the Commonwealth Government — that is, of course, the taxpayers — would have to make in order to establish a reliable foundation for the scheme. These he places at a million a year for five years and half a million a year for yet another five or ^/^-million in all. These are fairly big figures and even if proportionately applied to the Dominion on the footing of relative populations would mean a pretty substantial amount to be found from taxation within the period mentioned. Then, of course, would-follow. the permanent annual State contributions to the fund, as to which nothing is said in the cable. We have, of course, yet to see how these recommendations will be received. Even in the Commonwealth they will, in some quarters at _ any rate, be regarded as being over-conservative. The mam danger m our own country is that our Government is so possessed with the notion of doing something spectacuiar that it will give but scant heed to soundness and permanence. Even in his radio message from his home-coming ship, aiso published to-day, our Minister of Finance, the Hon. Walter Nash, could riot refrain from giving some intimation of this, for in it he says, with respect to the subjects here under review, that he is hoping "New Zealand will be able to build a system supenor to that in any other country/ This is of course, a very noble ambition to entertam, but, unless caution is exercised, it is very liable like other and less laudable vaulting ambitions, to "o'erleap ltself and fall on the other side." Mr Nash'^ first excursions m the way ot social betterment were met by the imposition of some ^2, -million of special taxation— a very simple plan and part only ot the extra ^5 -million in all exacted from the people of the Dominion ffuring last financial year. They are very naturally anxious to learn as- soon as possible whether his "much bigger and better scheme" is to proceed upon the same lines. The taxanon plan, though having all the apparent ease and beauty of simplicity, cannot be pursued indefmitely without eventual consequent disaster.