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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1978
*
THESE SERVICES COULD BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH BOTH DISABILITY ALLOWANCES AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE WHERE APPLICABLE
AND
THAT MORE SHOULD BE DONE FOR CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE REQUIRING SPECIAL ATTENTION BEYOND THE ALREADY WIDE RANGE OF NORMAL PROVISION. THE MAIN THRUST WOULD BE BY MEANS OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK AND FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION.
SIR MURRAY SAID THAT THESE PROGRAMMES WERE TECHNICAL IN CONTENT AND COULD ONLY BE SUPPORTED BY A STEADY FLOW OF SOCIAL OR PARA-MEDICAL WORKERS TRAINED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. PROV IS ION FOR THE NECESSARY COURSES HAD BEEN MADE AND MANY WERE ALREADY IN OPERATION.
HE STATED THAT THE DETAILS OF ALL THESE PROGRAMMES EITHER HAD BEEN OR VERY SHORTLY WOULD BE PUBLISHED IN WHITE PAPERS.
+AT 1978 PRICES, OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THIS WILL INVOLVE $223 MILLION IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, AND AN INCREASE OF $513 MILLION IN THE LEVEL OF RECURRENT EXPENDITURE.+
REFERRING TO A RECOMMENDATION IN A GREEN PAPER ON A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTORY SCHEME OF INSURANCE AGAINST THE RISKS OF EXTENDED SICKNESS, DEATH AND RETIREMENT, SIR MURRAY SAID THE PROPOSAL HAD BEEN THE SUBJECT OF WIDE DEBATE AND ALSO OF TESTS OF PUBLIC OPINION, AND THE PUBLIC ACTUARY'S OFFICE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM HAD BEEN CONSULTED.
+A GROUP OF EMPLOYERS HAS ALSO PUT FORWARD A COUNTER-SCHEME TO COVER THE SAME RISKS. WHILE YOUR GOVERNMENT ACCEPTS THE NEED FOR THE COVERAGE, IT HAS NOT YET REACHED A CONCLUSION ON WHAT THE BEST METHOD OF PROCEEDING WOULD BE GIVEN THE WIDE MEASURE OF COVER FOR THE LOWER INCOME GROUPS ALREADY PROVIDED BY PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND DISABILITY AND OLD AGE ALLOWANCES, AND BY STATUTORY BENEFITS UNDER LABOUR LEGISLATION AND THE SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS ALREADY COVERED BY THE TERMS OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT,+ HE SAID.
SIR MURRAY EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT PROPOSALS MIGHT BE PUT TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DURING THE CURRENT SESSION.
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