Administrative Organisation is Costing £80,000
pp. 40-41 · Read in the full issue
War Damage Commission Moves
Ponderously
Administrative Organisation is Costing £80,000 Per Annum
Canberra, Mar. 31.
MR. A. W. COLES, chairman of the War Damage Commission, will make another trip to New Guinea, during the Parliamentary recess, in company with the two other members of the Com mission, Messrs. H. W. Chancellor and A. W. B. Vance. The fund pays the cost.
“The intention of the Commission,”
Mr. Coles said, in an interview, “is to establish a claims assessment organisa tion on a full-time basis. We have made two visits already to the Islands, and an almost complete assessment of the
damage in the Moresby area has been made. The investigation work is going on continuously per medium of local com mittees, and the object of the Commis sion is to bring the records up to such a stage as to enable us to effect imme diate rehabilitation as soon as the Gov ernment decides that such a course is practicable.”
Commission’S Report
The annual report of the Commission for the year ended December 31 last states that the absence of owners’ records and the lack of evidence of war damage render the investigation of claims in New Guinea and Papua a mat ter of considerable difficulty. A commit tee of review has been set up in respect of 15 districts in which claims have arisen. These committees comprise re presentatives with local knowledge, as well as experts in the particular types of property and goods involved in the claims.
An amendment to the Regulations gazetted last September provides that interest on compensation assessed and recorded accrues from the date of occur rence of war damage, instead of the date of assessment of compensation. Claim ants are therefore no longer at a dis advantage owing to time taken in pro ducing evidence in support of their claims. New claims notified during the year 1943, in respect of New Guinea and Papua, total 412 and involve property and goods valued by the owners at £1,677,339. The total of all claims re ceived in the various areas is as follows:
The total amount standing to the credit of the War Damage Fund is £14,088,675.
The cost of administration for the year 1943 amounted to £179,641, or 2.42 of the revenue for the year. It included £100,628 paid to local government authorities, which represented 2.89 per cent, of fixed property contributions. Insurance com panies and insurance brokers again gaye their services without charge, and paid all the costs of collection of contributions in respect of other than fixed property.
Is the Administration Too Costly?
Editorial Note
rpHERE are indications that a top- X heavy organisation has been set up to administer this Australian War Damage Commission. How else could the noble sum of £79,013 be spent in one year on “Commission’s administration—Head Office and branches”?
Just think of the number of war ruined planters and traders in the Ter ritories who could be rehabilitated with half of £79,ooo—but who, under the pre sent outrageous War Damage Regula tions, have no chance whatever of get ting any compensation at all! And £79,000 is only one year’s expenses.
It seems to be the usual story of a Government Commission. The thing was established for a worthy public purpose.
Then it becomes cluttered up with high
New Guinea . £8,761,954 Papua 1,966,527 Northern Territory . 81,157 Western Australia 5,751 Others 2,875 Total . £10,818,264
salaried gentlemen, complete with elabo rate offices, private secretaries, staffs of accountants and clerks, and all the elaborate and expensive machinery with which the holders of well-paid Govern mental jobs love to surround them selves. The whole job of assessing and paying damage could have been done at a quarter of the cost, if only efficiency, commonsense and patriotism had been employed.
In Australia, to-day, there are hun dreds of former Territories residents for whom the future holds very little—their life-work and property were destroyed in the Japanese invasion—but officialdom says it was not “direct war damage.” In Australia, also, there may be a million or two people who, in 1943, paid compul sory war-damage insurance on their properties, and said to themselves: “Well, the money will go to help those poor Territories blighters, anyway.” They* should know, now. that one of the chief objects of the War Damage Commission apparently is to see that no claim for war damage is accepted unless the pro perty concerned was directly damaged by war—by a shell, or scorched earth, or something of the sort.
Well, over £lOO,OOO has been paid out in administration costs since January, 1942. How much has been paid out in war-damage compensation?
Ruined Territorians and Australian taxpayers can comfort themselves, if they wish, by visiting the offices of the Commission, and admiring the beautiful furniture and fittings, and the imnressive array of staff. There is an office in every State. The head office, in the beautiful and exnensive MLC Building. Martin Place. Svdney, is well worth a visit by any aesthetic soul.