The Waikato Times TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1937. PREPARING FOR THE SESSION.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20262, 3 August 1937, Page 6

The Waikato Times TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1937. PREPARING FOR THE SESSION.

The Ministry is busy with the preparation of its polioy measures for the coming session, and among them are the health insurance and the national superannuation schemes. The Government is pledged to bring down legislation “to provide a health service for every contingency that may face the ordinary citizen.” That is a big order and the authorities have promised to work in co-operation with friendly societies, and the medical, nursing and pharmaceutical professions. In addition the necessary laboratory facilities are to be maintained and a home nursing -nlan is to be started. The superannuation scheme will necessitate the reorganisation of the existing pension system for besides invalid, widows’, war and accident pensions it will provide a pension for all persons over the age of sixty years. These are the objectives set out in the Labour manifesto issued prior to the last general elections. The promises were made after a study of the reports issued by the British Medical Association and the special committee set up to investigate a national health service.

The drafting of the legislation in connection with these matters will be a long and difficult task, and it is by no means certain that all the particulars are yet available. Last week the Prime Minister said that much material dealing with both schemes had been collected by Mr Nash who had talked about the proposals with representatives of other nations. Perhaps the information thus gathered has been sent forward, but the views of the Minister of Finance have yet to be learned, so that it will be some time before the approved scheme can be sent to the Law Draftsman to be set out in the usual way. It does not seem likely that these important Bills will figure on the Order Paper until a late stage of the session. In the meantime the proposals for reorganising the education system and the measure for the amalgamation of local bodies should occupy the House for some time, and Mr Savage evidently hopes that the Financial Statement will be brought down at an early date. Then there are several matters which are of great importance to primary producers but will not necessarily come before Parliament. The guaranteed prices will be announced, probably in Parliament, but if the House is not to meet until tbe end of the month there is no need, provided the Cabinet has reached a decision, for the information to be withheld until then. The prices will then, presumably, require action under the Agricultural Workers’ Act, for last year the Minister of Labour said that the Bill had been altered so as to fix the rates of wages for one year—to August 31, 1937—and power would be taken to review them and make any changes by issuing an Order-in-Council. The two things are interdependent, so that nothing will be known of any wage alterations until the guaranteed prices have been made public. Many producers did not endorse the statement of the Minister, made during the debate, that their wages bill “is infinitesimal in comparison with their other Costs in running their farms,” and any changes will be a matter of no little importance to the producers. These are among the things that will command publio attention during the next few weeks, and if the Prime Minister can see his way to make a statement giving some idea when the announcements, as distinct from the measures, can be expected those concerned will be thankful.