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PARLIAMENT'S POWERS

ESTIMATES & SALARIES,

SOLICITOR-GENERAL'S RULING

CRITICISM UPSET.

ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT JUSTIFIED.

Contentions recently advanced by the Opposition party in the House of Representatives, and reinforced by some legal opinions, have raisod a question as to whether the Government has followed a. constitutional course in bringing down Departmental Estimates prior to the completion of the Classification of the Public Service by tho Public Service commissioner. The subject is comprehensively dealt with in a report which P as been furnished by tho Solicitor-Gen-eral (Mr. J. W. Salmond) under dato September 18, to the Hon. A. L. Herdroan (Attorney-General). Tho SolicitorGeneral's conclusion is that the course taken by the Government in regard to the Estimates is in accordance with law. Following is the text of his report:— ; "Tlio Estimates now before the Com-, mittee of Supply of the House of Representatives, and relating to tho remuneration of the Public Service, are based, in accordance with tho usual practice, on the salaries paid during the last financial year, any increaso being left to bo dealt with on the Supplementary Estimates. On August 20, after the main Estimates had been brought down the Public Service Commissioner published his classification of the Public Servjce in accordance ' with tho Public Service Act, 1912. This classification is now in force, subject, however, to any alterations which maiy bo made therein by the Board of Appeal. The salaries .fixed by the classification are difforent in very many instances' from the sala--rios appearing in the Estimates now tinder discussion in the Committee of Supply.

The Statutory Contract. "I am asked to adviso as to the legality of the course so taken in bringing down the Estimates, and my attention has' been called to an opinion recently given on this point by Kir John Findlay, K.C., and Air. C. P. Skerrett, K.C. "So that opinion is confined to the proposition that a vote on the Estimates cannot alter any salary fixed by the Public Service Commissioner in pursuance of his statutory authority under the Public Service Act, I agree with that opinion. When the Commissioner has once fixed the salary of an officer by classifying him in accordance with the Act, the officer acquires a statutory right to be paid that salary, and this' right cannot be affected b", a reduction of the Estimates. The House has, of course, full power .to reduce the Estimates, but such a ' reduction Mould amount merely to a refusal by, the House to supply tho Executive Government with tho moneys necessary to enable it to fulfil its ■ statutory obligations.

"Those obligations would none tho less remain in existonco and the Civil Servant so affected would be entitled to take proceedings in a Court of Law for the recovery of the salary assigned to him by the Commissioner. Apart from legislation tho difficulty bo c'reatcd could only be put an end to by the act of. the; Commissioner in .dispensing,' by threo months' notice, with the services of the officer whose salary the House had so refused to vote.

. "If,. on the other hand, the Comtaittee of Supply voted a salary in excess of the statutory salary as fixed bv the this vote - would be entirely ineffective to increase that salary.. The repeal\of Section 46 of the Public Eevenues Act, 1910, by the Public Revenues Amendment Act, 1912, prevents any such increase of a payment, the amount of which is limited by an Act of Parliament.

"If, therefore, Parliament is desirous of increasing or. reducing any salary fixed by tie Public Service Commissioner, this must be, done by express enactment, and not Merely by a vote on the Estimates. An express enacting clause in the Appropriation Act itself would of course ba sufficient for the purpose. An Important Qualification. "The only qualification of the, above Vulo is that which is provided by Seotion 24 of the Public Service Act, 1912. By virtue of this section a Governor may, by Message to the House of Representatives, recommend a rateable re-

duction or increase in the salary of

every person in any division of the ■>- Public Service. If this recommendation is approved by a resolution of tlie House it takes effect accordingly with-

out any 'enactment to tliat effect. To this extent tho statutory salaries of Public Servants may bo affected without legislation enacted for that purpose. "In order to avoid misapprehension it 5s necessary to state H-hat the foregoing observations as to tho power of tho Commissioner to fix salaries independently of Parliament _ apply only to tho professional and clerical divisions of the Public Service. In rospeiit of these divisions salaries are determined by the Commissioner alone, and Parliament merely votes tho • money necossary to fulfil tho statutory contracts so made b.v the Commissioner. In respect, however, of tho adminis-' trativo division and tho general division the law is otherwise. In tho administrative' division tho Commissioner has no voico in fixing salaries, and theso depend solely on the Estimates in 'accordance with tho former practice. In respect of tho general division, it is' provided, by Section 22 of tbe Act that the salaries are to bo such as are determined by the Commissioner, and provided in tho annual Estimates. In this case, therefore, tho determination of the Commissioner is of no effect Bave bo far as tlia salary so deterrtined is approved by the House in passing l the litimatos. . Tho Function of the House. "The function of tho Houso is not tnerely to supply money for tho payment of such salaries, but also to determine what theso salaries aro to be. The salary so voted by the Houso cannot be greater than that determined by tho Commissioner, but it may bo less._ A similar provision is made in Section 20, with respect to thoso officers pf the professional division whose Salaries exceed £700 a year. "The reason for the distinction so lnado by the Act is that., in respect of tho clerical and professional divisions, the_ powers of tho Commissioner aTe limited by tho scheduled scale of salaries,' whereas there i 3 no scheduled scale for tho general division, and the; power of tho Commissioner to fix such salaries is, therefore,' made, subject to,' tho consent of Parliament. 1

Undiminished Powers. "The foregoing considerations, however, in no way affect the question as to tho legality or regularity of the course taken by the Government in respect of the Estimates now beforo tho Committee of Supply. In my opinion there is nothing in tho Public Servico 'Act, 1912, which in any way affects ; the established practice of the House with respect to the preparation, presentation. or passing of the Estimates. Tho Public Sorvicc Commissioner has rothing to do with tho Estimates. ; The purpose of passing Estimates is to outhoriso tho expenditure of public money by the Executive Govornmcnt. It is by this meansthat tho Government obtains the supplies necessary to en-.

able it to fulfil its legal obligations and to perform its functions.

"Savo in special classes of cases these Estimates in no way determine what tho legal obligations or liabilities of tho Government are, or affect tho rights of private persons to receive payment of public moneys. Thore is no reason why the Government should in its Estimates ask at one and the sitnie time for the wholo of the supply which may bo necessary during tlio entire financial year. Tho established practice in the past has been t'j insert, in the main Estimates merely the iaiaries as paid during the previous financial year, leaving all increases to be voted on the Supplementary Estimates. "There is nothing in the Public Service ''Act to prevent the continuance of this practice. In tho present instance, indeed, the adoption of this course is not merely lawful, but . practically necessary, for the classification of the Public Sorvice by the Commissioner is not yet complete. It is as yet merely provisional, for every portion of'it is subject to appeal to the Board of Appeal, and may be altered by that board. "Until these appeals have all been disposed of it is impossible for tho Government or for the Houso to know what the statutory salaries of officers of the Public Service are, and it would seem very; probable that this state of things will continue until after the passing of the Appropriation Act for the present year. •"The only-' duty of the Government, therefore, is to take care that 'in the main and Supplementary Estimates combined, such Supplies are obtained as will bo sufficient to enable payment to be made in full of whatever salaries may bo ultimately fixed in the final classification of the Public Sorvice. In the meantime, and pending the passing of the Appropriation Act, the statutory salaries as fixed, in tho classification list will be paid in full out of Imprest Supply in the ordinary .course.

An inadmissible Conclusion. The suggestion' that tho Public Sorvice Act, i.yl2, requires the Estimates for the present year to be based on and conformed to tho salaries as fixed under that Act, involves tho inadmissible conclusion that the introduction and consideration of tho Estimates, and -the passing of tho Appropriation Act must - De delayed until tho Board of Appeal has finished its work, and finally determined all the salaries in the Public Service, an event which might not. happen until after the close of the session, or even the end of the financial year.

"An additional reason for the adoption of tho present course is that the statutory salaries commence only on August 20, tho date of the publication of the Commissioners' classification. Salaries for that portion of the present financial year which elapsed before August 20 must be voted on tho Estimates in the ordinary manner, and the Public Service Act, 1912, has no application. It is true that in tho memorandum attached by tho Commissioner to the classification list, he indicates that these salaries will take effect as from the beginning of tbo present financial year, but I am not awaro of any authority for so making the classification retrospective in its oporation. If this is intended, a clauso to that effect should be inserted in the Appropriation Act.

In Accordance With Law. "I ma.y add that thore is no legal necessity for the details of the statutory salaries of the clerical and professional divisions to appear in the Estimates at all. In future years, there; fore, when the classification of these divisions is complete, it will be lawful either to vote an aggregate amount to meet these salaries or-to continue tho present practice of voting each salary In ' the' :presfeht ""year,' however, tho latter is tbo only practicable course.

"I have to advise accordingly," the Solicitor-General concludes, "that tho course taken by the Government in the present case is in accordance with law."

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19130919.2.26

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1859, 19 September 1913, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,797

PARLIAMENT'S POWERS Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1859, 19 September 1913, Page 5

PARLIAMENT'S POWERS Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1859, 19 September 1913, Page 5

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