SUGGESTED ECONOMIES

Hokitika Guardian, 4 October 1932, Page 3

SUGGESTED ECONOMIES

r FURTHER PROPOSALS. CALLED FROM THE REPORT. . The National Expenditure Conir.nsision’s report stressed again the Commission’s belief that .the 'Main -Highl ways Re', enue Fund should be abolished. -By this means only, it ; says, can real and sustained economy in loading ( be maintained find the commencement <of grandiose projects years ahead of the need of the. Dominion •, be avoided; “We trust that political expediency will not be allowed to stand in the way of the, abolition of this and other .special funds which we are convinced are quite wrong 111 principle.” N? iV Zealand’s annual payment to the- . .ecretarial expen-es of the , League of .Nations is £12,1b0. The Commission says it, is. a matter for consideration whether this is not excessive, and suggests .that th 6 representative of the Dominion should continue to press for a reduction in the proportion allocated to frew. Zealand or in the genera,! expenses of tihe League. DEPARTMENT AMALGAMATIONS. The Land and Income Tax Department is considered to be economically administered and there is no item m whioh. any considerable .saying can be effected. . . N Considerable Departmental amalgamations and reorganisations are/recommended in.regard to Native Affairs, but it. is said to be impossible to., estimate the -economies which these wil) produce. They would, however, eliminate further losses, and lie conducive to greater efficiency and more effective control. / In-, regard to the railways, it is hed that present railway employees are enjoying estmordinary privileges and concessions in the shape of low rent for Departmental houses, and past ana present officers are granted unduly liberal, concessions in regard to raiKvay travel. Expenditure on Cook ; Islands and Niue Island administration may be reduced, fr0m'£21,633 to £IO,OOO, particularly; dhould expenditure on education be- reduced. A thorough overhaul of the expenditure. and establishment of the mandated territory of Western Samoa should be undertaken at th© earliest j moment, with a view to relieving the New.. Zealand taxpayer, as far as may be practicable, of the cost of Samoan administration. The vote for Census Statistics Department. .should not exceed £17,500 (now £21,488). The Dominion publicity service should .be reduced by 25 per cent., which | wopjd eihow ft saving of £5500. | REDUCED PAYMENT TO JURORS- .. The amount paid to jurors in criminal and civil cases, now' 10s 6d a day, should be reduced to 6s. Estimated sayjpg. £ISOO. The Railway Depreciation Reserve should not, b© used for new /capital purposes. More rigid control of Departmental motor-cars, to reduce the excessive number in use and huge expenditure entailed. Departmental loans should be controlled by the Investment Board ol the State Advances Department of the Treasury. A fee, of 10s 6a to be charged for each appeal to the Public Service Commissioner’s Office. •Administrative positions in the Pub-lic-Service to be "filled by officers selected cfiiefly because of administrative ability. ; Telephones in private residences should not be paid for by the Governmew’.

Allowances in addition- to salary should be subjected to dose overhaul by .essential authorities, with a view to 'jhe cancellation of many existing allowances.

A committee of officers should be set up with authority to deal with salaries. T.r.ges, -grading,' working conditions, and privileges throughout the whole of the State services. The Commission is of the opinion that .the duties of the Transport Department could well be undertaken by the .iPublic .Works Department. li (states. that there appears to be no justification for the continued existence of a special Department. STATE COAL MINES. Rovabty should he charged against the >tuoe 'Coal Mines 'Account, and it is suggested that it may be necessary either to increase slightly th e charges or effect, economies in order to a\o’>d running .at a loss. It is Recommended that the total expenditure of th e ■ State Forest Department on indigenous forests should be reduced by 20 per cent. :Jh e system of (handing over a portion of the timber revenue to local odies .should he wholly .abolished, by legislation. 1 The present small. arms ammunition contract between the Defence • Department and the Colonial Ammunition Company is unsatisfactory. It .should be reviewed, and, if possible, terminated. , FEWER SCHOOLS OF MINES. Of the six Schools of Mines, two ■should be closed. The gold dealer’s fee should .be increased from £l to £5 ss. , • •• One private secretary should suffice tor each 'Minister of the V wvn — a p.ayitig of ’ £2OOO. Special allowances to Ministers’ rncesongers .should be abolished. The High. 'Commissioner's Office staff should be, ..reduced. The ..cost of this office' is £25,511. Th e Dominion Museum should Uc

placed under ■ the control of a Bpard of Trustees. A stricter control of 'acclimatisation societies is recommended to ensure that their activities in the control of pests suclT as deer, are carried out. The full charge for examination of accounts and balance-sheets of Government Departments should be made by the Audit Depa*-meni.. HIGHER FEES FROM HOTELS. The Commission can see no reason why hotels in metropolitan area;; should pay the same fee as small country hotels. The /scale of Tees should be revised, with ta considerably higher fee for tiie licensees of metropolitan hotels. Fees paid by chartered clubs also appear to be low. The Prisons Department and Justice Department should be amalgamated. A charge should be made for .aj legal work carried on by the Crown Law Office for such Departments . a-s the Post and Telegraph, New Zealand Railways, State Coal Mines and other tracing departments which at present receive free, service. The Police Department appears f© be economically administered and the Commission makes no recommendation in regard to th© vote of £456,672. No further resistance towards prospecting for ~,old and other minerals should be given, as considerable expenditure is now being incurred by the Unemployment Board—a saving oi £7OOO. Present scales of pay in,the Defence Force are on too liberal a basis. Allowances to . permanent force members ay© not justified as salaries paid are sufficient to enable officers to provide •uniforms.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR. In connexion -with the Labour Department, it is recommended/- that tine fees charged for registerin' ..fatcories 'hould be increased with the object of increasing the total revenue under this heading by £IOOO. Fees paid by the State to .assessors at Conc'liat.on Councils at present cost £650 .per annum. It , is recommended that in future these fees should b© paid by the parties concerned. The cost of posting citations should also be borne by the parties. It is also recommended that a b.large I should be made for th© copies of awards now issued free.

At present the half-holidays for shops are fixe I annually, and ,it is necessary for the, Department to incur a certain amount of exper .iture ©adl, year under this head. It is, therefore, suggested that half-holidays ancl closing hours fojshops .should remain fixed until such time as well supported representations for changes wer© made.. LANDS AND SURVEY. With a view to reducing the -expenditure in the Lands and Survey Department the .Commission recommends that local land boards -should b© abolished and in lieu thereof a committee of three persons in each land district for the- purpose of controlling routine administration and acting as an advisory body to a central board in We - llington. Th© setting up of one controlling board is, in the opinion of the Commission, imperative.

A general overhaul of the duties of the technical branch is recommended with a view to th e elimination or postponement of much of the work of map drawings It should be possible to reduce the personnel of the technical branch by at .least fifty officers—a saving of approximately >£lo,ooo. * Th e Commission recommends the abolition of the following special endowments New Zealand University Endowment, Westland; North Island 'Experimental 'Dairy’School Account; Taranaki Scholarship Endowment Account. LANDS' FOR. SETTLEMENT. "the Commission recommends -that the Land for Settlement Act he, amended to enable the basis of calculation of -ert to be determined by th e Minister for Finance, having regard to- interest payable on loans raided from time to time for ,th ? purposes of the Land for (Settlements Account. To put land settlement on a sound basis a reserve of at least \ per cent is recommended to meet contingent losses. Tt i,s urged that the purchase of estates be more rigidity controlled, and that no further land be purchased unless it could be reasonably proved, that it, could be .subdivided and settled without loss: