PM Transcripts

STAT3ME-IFNT BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
THE RT. HON. JOHN GORTON, MP. IN
THE HOULSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON
13 MARCH 1968
PAYMENT TO CAPTAIN ROBERTSON
In conjunction with its consideration of the Report of the
Royal Commissioners, the Government has given much thought to the
position of Captain R. J. Robertson. On his resignation in 1964, Captain
Robertson was ineligible for any pension from the Defence Forces
Retirements Benefits Fund and received only the repayment of his own
contributions to the Fund. As Honourable Members are well aware, no
Service Board, either in 1964 or now, has authority to grant pensions.
Provision for pensions In all three Services is made in the Defence Forces
Retirement Benefits Act 1948-66. The Naval Board in 1964 could only
ensure that Captain Robertson was aware of the consequences of his
decision to resign and this It did.
No officer of the Armed Services Is entitled to resign
and claim his f ull pensilon merely because he is dis satisfied With a
particular appointment. Howev--r, it Is widely felt that Captain Robertson
resigned as and when he did because of certain critical findings made by
the first Royal Commission and that, In the special circumstances of this
case, the second Royal Commission having accepted a different
reconstruction of the accident and having said that Captain Robertson was
free of any criticism, the Government should take some action recognising
the changed position. The Government has now decided that a payment should:
Sbe made to Captain Robertson * and In reaching this conclusion necessarily
had to take a broad view. Whilst paying some regard to the pension which
Captain Robertson might have received In certain eventualities If he had
not resigned as and when he did, the Government did not regard this as the
sole criterion. Other factors also had to be taken Into consideration.
' Having considered various ways In which this payment might be made the
Government decided that payment of a lump sum, as an act of grace, would
be the most appropriate and the Government has now decided to authorise
payment accordingly of 000 In reaching this decision, the Government
took Into account advice from the Commissioner of Taxation that he would
regard payment made in the form proposed as being free of income tax.