FIRST BALLOT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24420, 4 October 1940, Page 8

FIRST BALLOT

TERRITORIAL FORCE APPEALS AGAINST SERVICE PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED WORK OF MANPOWER COMMITTEES <From Our Parliamentary Reporter*' WELLINGTON, Oct. 3. Appeals against service with the territorial force by men called up in the-ballot-will be heard inpub- | lie by the Manpower Committees, the Minister of --National:; Service - (Mr B. Semipie) said to-day, alj£- - though the committees may id any , particular case, having regard to the interests of the appellant and of the other persons concerned, hold the appeal in private. The Minister said that magisterial boards would be appointed to hear appeals against; overseas service., ..

The policy laid down by the Government to be followed by the Manpower Committees in the hearing of appeals was defined by Mr Semple. He said instances would not infrequently arise jn appeals brought on the grounds of undue .hardship where a request would be made that.the hearing be in private “ Sympathetic consideration will be given in such cases,” the Minister said '•The committees have been recommended to deal with a request of this nature, by calling for a brief outline of the facts in camera before deciding to grant leave. In appeals on the grounds of undue hardship where the financial i position of the appellant or co-appel-lant is relevant, serious embarrassment may be occasioned In having the details ventilated in; public. The; committees have to exercise / discretion 'as torthe -taking of such evidence in private if a request is made to this effect, or of permitting a written statement to be out in.” In general, the procedure to be followed undet the regulatibiis in' respect of men drawn in the ballot differed very.-little-fcom - the ■ existing practice as applied to volunteers, Mr Semple said. While.the utmost care ,had been taken to secure a proper balance in the manpower requirements for the armed forces on the one hand, and industry generally on the other, there was no ■ provision for the complete reservation of any industry or occupation. Wide rights of appeal were designed adequately to safeguard industry where if was in tb • public nterest to do so, but each case had to be dealt with on its merits and having regard to the circumstances at the time the man was called up for service. “Consideration of ‘the public interest ’ will be a matter of paramount interest” Mr Semple continued, “but the. committees will keep carefully in mind the. fact tha* the incidence of territorial service is not comparable with that of overseas service. To send a skilled worker out of the country _ for overseas service is a far more serious matter than merely to 1 divert him from his normal occupation for' the limited period of territorial training. Nevertheless, the importance of some industries or occupations is such that it will be unwise to permit any interruption by sending a man to camp even for a short period. On the other hand, the importance of an occupation may be merely seasonal, and a postponement of service the only relief justified. Manpower must be. considered on the basis of national service, not merely of military service.” Stressing the necessity for bringing the territorial force up to and maintaining it at full war strength, the Minister said it was expected that the committees would generally find that reasonable arrangements could in most cases be made to enable a man called up to be made available for service, if not immediately, then after a reasonable period of postponement, ■ Four of appeal ar.e classified,' The first is status—that when called up a man was not a member of the reserve or had lawfully ceased to be a British subject, or that when so called up he was a member of gome other class, the calling up of which had not been authorised. The grounds of appeal are available only to the person called up. The second’ is that by reason of his occupation, the calling up of a man was contrary to ' the public interest. The man. any other person or the Director of National Service may make the . appeal, but no appeal can be “ allowed ” , on this ground If the circumstances warrant the granting of relief this can be afforded by way of adjournment only. A similar disallowance is provided in cases of undue hardship for which there are two grounds—that by reason of a man’s domestic circumstances or for any other reason the calling up would; mean -undue hardship to the man or that undue hardship would be caused to the person presenting the appeal. The fourth ground is that a man conscientiously objects to serving with the armed forces, and it is available only to the man concerned. A , manpower committee has no jurisdiction to determine an appeal on this ground; A special- provision has been made for the remittance of these appeals to the Director of National Service for reference to an Armed Forces Appeal Board. If the appeal is allowed the man becomes a member of the third division of the general reserve. If dismissed, the appeal will be referred back to the committee if there are other grounds of determination. Appeals in respect of public servants would- be dealt with by the committees, the Minister explained. In order to obtain complete uniformity all the State Departments had been directed to forward particulars of all servants for whom a postponement was desired to the director, who would lodge appeals in cases deemed necessary. On .ground? other than public interest, public servants will lodge their own appeals Appeals on ; the grounds of public interest will be made to the committees by the board concerned employing school teachers, -

ADVICE TO MEN CALLED AWAIT ARMV NOTICE POSITION OF AIR FORCE APPLICANTS (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, Oct. 3. In a statement issued by Army Headquarters regarding men called by ballot, attention is drawn to the fact that a man who is called, provided his name and address are correctly shown- in the Gazette, is not required to take any further action until he ccceives a notice from the Army Office io report for medical examination 'of.some dtfier purpose. V In many teases men who have been tailed ip the ballot have ;,applied: to Join the AlrJforce' bufMt - should be noted that arrangements have been made td defer in the meantime the medical examination of such men for Territorial Force purposes. Those who come within the following groups will be deferred until it is known whether they are accepted by the Air Force:— <1) • Men awaiting selection; (2) selected, but not yet medically examined: (3) selected and medically examined, but not yet attested in the Royal New Zealand Air Force reserve If any man included in the above groups should receive notice from the

army, he should at once communicate with the nearest Army Office and act in accordance with the instructions which he will then receive. In addition, it is possible in a few cases that men already attested in the Royal New Zealand Air Force reserve have been included in the ballot. These men will not be called up for the Territorial Force, and should at once communicate with the nearest Army Office. . It is also proposed to defer the medical examination of men who have been previously medically examined for the army, and there is no need for such men to take any action until they receive notice from the Army Office. ? The main object of this statement is to advise the-men. referred to in the above classes'that- they should wait for orders from the army and refrain from calling on or communicating with the Army Department. A large amount of correspondence has already been received and this is causing much unnecessary Work which it is desired to avoid.'.;- •'' -V ' .: ( ' It is also pointed’out.'that if a mans address is incorrectly shown in the Gazette or in the notice of his having been drawn in the ballot, which has been sent to him by the Director of National Service, he is required to notify the director and the nearest Army, Office promptly of his correct address'." ■■ ; NECESSITY TO REGISTER .PUNITIVE PROVISIONS , (Per United Press Association) : '■ WELLINGTON, Oct. 3. In a statement to-night, the Minister of National Service (Mr R. Semple) made it plain that every possible step was being taken by the Government to ensure complete registration in ; the first division of the general reserve Unfortunately. he said, there were a few slackers in the country, and it was against them that the punitive clauses of the regulations, which the Government would not hesitate to use. were aimed. Mr Semple pointed out that it was specifically laid down in the regulations that every eligible man was a reservist, whether he registered or not. Failure to register rendered an offender liable to a fine of £IOO or 12 months’ imprisonment, or both fine and imprisonment. In addition, on conviction, he might be sent tp camp immediately without waiting for a ballot.

MEDICAL BOARD’S TASK • MEN IN ISOLATED DISTRICTS The task of bringing before medical boards the 1000 men called in the first ballot for territorial service in the Invercargill Military District (states the Southland Times) will probably be one of the most difficult in New Zealand. Because of the scattered nature of the district of the men will have to be‘ brought long distances to be examined, and if that is not practicable medical boards will have to travel to isolated points. Included in the list are men living at Milford Sound. Puysegur Point and Stewart. Island. Services between Milford Sound, Puysegqr Point and Invercargill run infrequently, particularly at this time of the year, and considerable delay may be experienced before the men drawn in the ballot can be examined. It is understood that every effort will be made by the authorities to ensure the minimum loss of time ’in bringing such men before medical boards. MANPOWER COMMITTEE IRREGULAR APPEALS The secretary of the Manpower Committee in Dunedin advises that the work of his department has been, considerably complicated by the receipt of irregular appeals against inclusion in the Territorial Force of persons drawn in the recent ballot. Appellants are informed that the regulation appeal forms may be obtained at the Post Office, and when correctly filled in should be either posted to the secretary of the Manpower Committee or delivered to the secretary’s office in the Government Life Insurance Building, Rattray street. Mr D. C. Cameron has been appointed chairman of the local Manpower Committee.