PUBLIC SERVICES

Hokitika Guardian, 19 October 1929, Page 3

PUBLIC SERVICES

COST TO THE COUNTBY. . “The expenditure; has grown out of all proportion to the business Wr are doing, and the time has arrived when some method should be devised to bring the expense? down,” staled Mr W. J. Gilberd, of Wanganui, at the conference of Associated Chambers of Commerce, at Auckland, when criticising increases in costs or managing various Government . departments in AFtci-. Alp Gilberd. had put his case in support of a remit which drew attention ..to the number of Civil servants, the increased administrative costs, and .the need forr ®ast.ic . redu'etions, the- conference was addressed in reply 4y the Public Service Commissioner,; Air IP Versclmffelt

Since 1914, explained A[r Gilberd. Parliamentary costs had increased from £71,422 a year to £153,909. During tliej same period, 'the ■‘total increase in the number of Civil servants was 45,253, and in salaries £14,681,000. The total cost -last year of salaries, excluding those relating to Parliament, was £25,984,000. The expenditure was out of proportion to the exports of the Dominion. Air C, H. Hewlett, ex-; pressed surprise at the figures quoted. and said that if private "enterprise carried such, surplus staffs,-they would soon be bankrupt. There wasneed for investigation into the who.le position of the Government departments, a ! nd the position should be constantly reviewed. .The trouble with the Government, institutibhs that they lacked the incentive rtf competition.

PBOPEB. UNDERSTANDING

An appeal for a proper understanding of the position ' beirtre further comment was launched, was made by Mr Verschaffelt. “I was amazed to hear Mr Gilberd’s figures,” he said, “and I don’t know where lie gets his increases in staff of 45,000 and in salaries of £14,009,0C0. There have been large .increases? in the Public Service since 1914, but a large proportion of these increases do not prelate to Civil servants' employed.” ■Quoting figures in support of his argument, he explained that the cost

of general administration of the Publice; Service had decreased from £1 3s 6d per head in 1914 to 17$ 8d a head last yeari' Increases in ' 'expeVi'- f ' diture were ,the result of such things as war pensions and _ war charges amounting to £3 8s 10 a head, and various social services. Mental hospital patients, for instance, had increased from 3000 in 1913 to aboul 6000 last year. That increase am the lowering of the hours of work of attendants from 78 a. week to 52 a week had been responsible for greater staffs in mental institutions. New departures, such (is gchbol vices,-had" also accountei|. f|r i|ic!|pasj ed staff in ' the Health/ Dfepartmeht'. The Forestry Service was a new department, as also was .the Department of Industrial arid Scientific Research. WHICH SHOULD BE CURTAILED-

The point was, which service's had to he curtailed ?. At the ■: presen+ time the tendency of Government was to increase its services, prefererce being shown to the, Post and Telegraph DeparttpentVVJn; the - lattealone there had been a tremendous . increase' ip facilities The community wanted the services and unless it was prepared to cea■m; ’ts demand there appeared little hope of all-round reductions in .cost. So'Xfar ■as sdlayies were concerned, those for executive officers we-e not onv a -higsh. plane. Only last week, for iihkt'aripe,J a power boar*' had; applied for -an engineer at £lO0 A a- year, and the P.W.D. eng.neer fo v Iho whole of the Wellington district only received £750 per annum.

ARE SERVICES. OVERSTAFFED. ~ .Mr. A. 0; Limn said there was- (V----,strong; feeling, that a number of Goveminent Departments were overstaff-, ed.r Would. Mr Versch'affelt say tha 1 * every man was ' taking his full 'pull on ' the rone? ' , ' : - Mr Versclxaffelt: So far as we, are., aware he is. If any specific cases are mentioned they can be cleared up. “The overhead costs of the country as a whole are Put of proportion to; the size and wealth of the . country,’’, said Mr A. F. AVright. “I do no+ think we are getting value for the money we pay. If every civil servant were in uniform, we would be amazed at the number. Some way would be found to reduce it.” * Mr W. Machin, of Christchurch, said there might be some reason for the increases in staff and expenditure in respect to public services, but the fact remained that it could not he done in private business. Sir Joseph Ward had said that the cost of social services had risen from £2 16s 6d a heed* in 1914 to $4 3s sd'. in'. 1928r|9 It was stated hy Mr V. E.' Hamilton, of Christchurch, that the Arms Act had cost £50,000 to administer. Such services Were not needed. Mr H.‘"T. Merratt, of Auckland, said |hat the 'Railway ' Department was notoriously overstaffed. If, as a ma'tthr ? of public policy, public servants were not to be dismissed in bard times, how could the .Government carry ,on economically? He considered it would be possible seme Government departments to amalgamate, and thus reduce the administrative costs to a certain extent. This might lie possible in the eases of the Lands Board and the Board of Agriculture.

Finally the remit .was withdrawn, it being explained that an earliei resolution covered fhe question.