The DOminion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1917. ' A REFORM VINDICATED

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3198, 24 September 1917, Page 4

The DOminion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1917. ' A REFORM VINDICATED

A debate in the Houso of Representatives on Friday night in which •the system! of Commissioner- control of the -Public Service came up for review is of more than passing interest. 1 During the last year or two detail aspects of the Public Service Commissioner's administration have on a, Aumbcr of occasions been criticised or attacked, sometimes on good grounds. The reform carried into effect, when the Public Service Act was passed" in 1912 is of wide scope, and it was not to be expected that it would take anything approaching permanent and detailed shape without a certain amount of temporary friction. In some matters, of which the right'of appeal is an outstanding example, working experience no doubt provided tho only conditions in-which a satisfactory adjustment was possible. That oontentious questions have arisen and . have at times proved difficult of adjustment dofs hot mean.that non-political control of the Public-Service is unsound in principle; It only means that in its initial shape it was not porfect or complete. Apart from the internal friction in the-Service which has .quite naturally accompanied the institution of an entirely; new system of control, the Commissioner has been ,very. greatly hampered in his ' work of reorganisation and improvement by conditions arising out of the war. ■ Plans made in normal have had to be set aside for the time being, and instead of developing these plans the Commissioner has had to. turn his attention to the creation of new Departments and offices needed in connection with war activities, and generally to adjusting and adapting tho Service to tho extraordinary circumstances of tho war period. Much of the criticism to which the system of Commissioner control is at times subjected betrays an imperfect appreciation of these factors. It is only fair to add that some of tha criticism has come not from opponents of non-political control but from those] who approved and supported the reform when it was exacted. It often happens that unduly optimistic expectations based upon a reform are disappointed, particularly in tho eai'ly stages of its development, and that its supporters as a result are turned into critics —sometimes into rather unreasonable critics. The reformer has as much right as any man 'to say: "Save me from my friends." Admitting that Commissioner control has not yet in all respects come up to expectations—partly, however, as a result of difficulties and obstacles which were not foreseen —and that detail grievances have arisen in the 'ranks of the Service, it is still possible to hold very definitely that if tie facts are dispassionately weighed the reform must be held to have amply justified itself in working operation. Convincing testimony on this point was borne by the Hon. G. W. Russell in the debate to which we have referred. Me. Russell was one of the stoutest opponents of Commissioner control when it was introduced. Now, after serving for two years as Minister in charge of the Public Service Commissioner's Office, ho is of opinion that the country will never be willing to go back to the position before the Commissioners were appointed, and that to do so would be a distfnctly. retrograde step. There should be no question of turning -Mr. Rus3ell's frank avowal to account in party disputation. ' It is chiefly welcome as assisting to lite an important section of the, public administration out of the domain of paxfcy warfare. Somo mGiiibcrs ■ of the Liberal Paijt'y still advocate tho abolition of Commissioner control. A number of them did so in the do--bate under notice. They will find it difficult to maintain this attitude now that a colleague who formerly saw eye to eye with them in this matter, and who has had Ministerial control of tho Department, has been converted from dissent to approval as a result of his close-range observation of the sytsem in working operation- . , . , £ t t Defending his change of iront) Mr. Russell emphasised the fact that non-political control has merits and has Brought benefits in its train which quite overshadow such detail features as have occasioned faultfinding. He spoke of the advantage to Ministers of being freed from personal applications for office under the Government. It is ovidenj that the institution of promotion and advancement by merit, instead of by political influence, is also a very great gain to tho public ant 1 , 'to tho members of _ the Public Service. Tho Minister pointed out fit .the same tinio that the establishment of Commissioner control bad conferred important ad-

vantages upon Public Servants in matters of grading and pay. Classification has been carried out on such lines that officers throughout tho Service arc paid at a fair average rate no matter "what Department they are in. This, obviously, is a bonefit which could never have been attained with Ministers in control of separate Departments. Those who look into the facts and distinguish fairly ' between detail imperfections and tho interrupted development duo to extraordinary conditions, and the broad results of the system, will bo bound to conclude that _Mn. Uussell did no more than justice to Commissioner control as it has thus far developed in New Zealand. The Public Service Commissioner and his assistwere appointed to institute promotion by merit and geocrally to deal justly with Public Servants; and to overhaul and reorganise the Service' with a view to the outoff of waste and improved efficiency-. In all these matters very considerable headway has been made in spite of 'the handicap of wav conditions, which have resulted' incidentally in one of the Assist- | ant Commissioners (Mr. Triggs) being required to deVote a large part of his time to duties outside tho Office of the Public Service Commissioner. _ Along with the exclusion of political influence, tho results ; of the Commissioner's operations appear in fairly substantial economies effected simultaneously with a steady improvement .in salaries. In his last annual report the Commissioner showed that average salaries in Departments other than the Post and Telegraph Department, on April 1, in the, years indicated were: - £ 1913 188 1911 : 187 1915 195 1916 ; 191 1917 191 Of' tho exceptional increase shownfor 1915, £4 18s. is accounted for by the conversion of emoluments other than salary.. The position in regard to economies is complicated by war conditions. On March 31 last, owing to the fact that- many officers absent with the Expeditionary Force had not been replaced, and that women and cadets are being utilised as largoly as possible, a saving of approximately £106,000 was shown. This is in great part a temporary saving,' and it is stated also that the cost of temporary assistance is rising rapidly. . On the other hand, some developments projected by tho (Commissioner and making for, Economy—notably thoamalgamation of Departmentshave been held up by the war. Uninterrupted development in normal years would no doubt havo enabled the Commissioner to add materially to the definite and'substantial economics effected. in the earlier years of his administration. At many points the record of the Commissioner's operations shows creditable progress, and tho record would undoubtedly havo been very much better but for the intervention of tho Ivar.