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INCREASED PENSIONS
FROM JULY
Child endowment will be increased
from 5/ to 7/6 a week, old-age and
invalid pensions from 27/ to 32/6 a
week from the first pay day in next
month.
Bills to provide for this were introduced
in the House of Representatives
yesterday by the Minister
for Labour and National Service
(Mr. Holloway). ,
Mr. Holloway appealed to the
House to ensure the legislation a
speedy passage so that the increases
could be commenced with the new financial
year which begins on July 1.
Besides the old-age and invalid
pension to inmates of benevolent institutions
will be increased from 9/6
to 11/6 per week.
Mr. Holloway said that the proposed
new rates of pensions were
the highest ever paid since the introduction
of the scheme.
Pensions increases would involve
the Government in an additional an-
ual liability of £4,510,000 and the increased
child, endowment in an added
liability of £6,080,000.
The new pension rate will accord
with the New Zealand rate which in
1943 established reciprocity of these
benefits with Australia.
The pension to inmates of benevolent
institutions, Mr. Holloway said,
was mainly in the nature of pocket
money to enable them to purchase tobacco
and other comforts, the cost of
the maintenance of the inmate being
borne by the < institution. This cost
varied between £80 and £90 a year.
Present number of invalid and old
age pensions was 310,501 and institutional
pensioners 4,930.
Mr. Holloway said that child endowment
was at present being paid
to 935,411 children and the annual
liability was £12,160,000 which would
be increased by the new rates to £18,
240,000.
Mr. Chifley said that later in this
session, the Government would introduce
_ legislation to consolidate all
social service legislation, and when
that Bill was brought down, ample
opportunity would be given to the
Parliament to discuss fully all aspects
of the services.
The debate on both Bills was adjourned.
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