The Federal Government has received the report of the English expert on insurance for health, old-age pensions and pensions for widows and orphans. The scheme he propounds covers 1,800,000 people receiving less than £365 a year.
Total contributions under both health and old-age pensions schemes would be 3/- a week for men and 2/- a week for women. Contributions would be shared equally between employer and employe.
These contributions would later be increased by 1/- in the case of a man (employer 6d., employee 6d.) and by one-half of these rates for women.
Benefits payable would be: free to join the society of his own choice.
It is a vast scheme, with many possible reactions. The Lyons Government makes an appropriation in its Budget for 1937-8, of £75,000 for preliminary expenses,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.