Commonwealth?

Is New Guinea Within The

IN an article of recent date, “Smith’s Weekly” asks: “Is New Guinea within the Commonwealth of Australia?”

Whether it is or not is of definite interest to some life assurance policy-holders whose policies do not cover Servicemen’s risks “outside the Commonwealth.”

It is understood that the AMP Societv and the MLC Assurance Co. have adopted a generous interpretation of the clause and have paid death claims on soldiers killed in New Guinea.

But other companies have not, and the result is confusion and often hardship for the dependants of deceased Service men.

Considerable interest has been aroused in the case of the death of a Private Mc- Govern. of Western Australia, who was killed at Gona, Papua, in December, 1942.

The insurance comoanv concerned refuses to pay up. although the Prime Minister fMr. Curtin) has interested himself in the case Federal Government is being asked to give a ruling on the whole Question of the legal rights of life assurance com panies and policy-holders in these cir cumstances.