SOCIAL SECURITY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 32309, 6 September 1943, Page 5

SOCIAL SECURITY

WORK OF LABOUR PARTY CLAIM BY MR THORN ADDRESS GIVEN AT TIROHIA In an election address to a meeting in Tirohia on Tuesday afternoon, Mr James Thorn stated that at the last elections the great issue was as to whether or not the iSocial Security Act should be administered. The Labour Party had enacted the legislation and was pledged to its generous administration, but the ’ Nationalist party had declared that if it was elected, it would refuse to operate the Act. This declaration was made in specific terms by. the then leader of the National Party, and by its present leader, Mr S. G. Holland. Not only had Mr Holland opposed the Act during the Parliament Just concluded but he had moved <a resolution to postpone the application of the free general medical practitioner’ service, this latter as late as 1941. Mr Thorn said that the Labour Party was proud of this great humanitarian legislation which had set an example to the world. He referred to 'the fact that Sir William Beveridge had stated that his Social Security plan for Great Britain had been based on the New Zealand scheme and that about two months before the recent general elections in Australia Mr Curtin had asked the New Zealand Government to send responsible officers of the Social Security Department to Australia to advise as to how a similar measure might operated there. Now that Mr Curtin and the Labour Party had won the elections by an overwhelming majority it was certain that a Social Security scheme on the New Zeadand procedure would soon ■be adopted in the Commonwealth.

More Benefits Although the administration of the Act had coincided with the four years during which the war had been waged Mr Thorn stated that not one-, year had passed without some improvement being made in its benefits. A particular' instance of this was the family allowance which began at 4s a week for each child after the first two where the family income did not exceed £5 a week until now it was 7s 6d a week for every child in the family in cases where the family income was not more than £5 5s a week. Hundreds of thousands of people had reason to be thankful for the Act because they had participateci in its many benefits. Mr Thorn said that under the Act nearly 100,000 old people received age benefits, over 44,000' were in receipt of the universal superannuation benefit, over 10,000- widows and deserted wives had been saved from poverty, nearly 14,000 breadwinners received the family allowances, while benefits were paid to 12,000 chronic invalids and to 400' orphans. Medical Work On the medical and health side of the legislation the benefits were just as striking and humane. Free treatment in the public hospitals was given to an average of 9300 persons daily, while on 1750’ persons dairy the same payment was made to private hospitals as on the patients in the public free maternity care had been provided for 130,000' mothers, last year there had been over 2,000,000 visits to or by doctors which had been paid for from the Social Security Fund; and last year, under the free medincine scheme no less than 3,500,000 prescriptions had been made up by the pharmacies throughout- the Dominion. The New Zealand plan had struck the imagination of humane and progressive people throughout the world, and social security was one of the aims definitely set out in the Atlantic Charter to be applied after the war was won. In conclusion, he asked, seeing that the Nationalists denounced social security at the last elections as being financially impossible, which Party could be the more relied on for a continued improvement of the legislation. The only answer, he said, was the present Labour Government.