WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 6 October 1932, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

NATIONAL EXPENDITURE. PLAIN SPEAKING. (Special Correspondent). .. WELLINGTON, October 3. During the last fifty years no report so frank and comprehensive concerning: the affairs o* this country had been submitted no a Prime Minister as was the. one handed to the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes! by the National Expenditure Commission at the week end. “No more complete (investigation into public spending has " ever) previously been made in New Zealand than that undertaken by the National,Expenditure Commission,” said the “Dominion” very truly. “Nothing but a high sense of public duty could have sustained the Commission in pursuing its searching inquiries to the bitter end and to the lastt penny through the jungle of State departments, subdepartments, boards, inspectorates, council and the rest. It is an impressive performance and the conclu- . unmistakable because they are definite.” In March last the Commission recommended savings totalling . £2,976, 332 ; now it is urging the Government to economise to the extent ,of just, upon four rnilions. “PRICE OF PRODIGALITY.” . Under this heading,, and- having had twenty-four hours to think about the matter, the “Post” does not go quite the whole length with its morn- , ing contemporary. “We cannot endorse every recommendation made by tlie National Expenditure Commis- • sion in its final report,” it says. ‘‘Nor can we accept entirely its findings on facts and the principles which should ; govern the national expenditure in v the future. Eiut' we acknowledge i freely that the Commission has car--1 riod through with admirable thoroughness the task which the Government ■ asked it to undertake.” The blame for the heavy consequential taxation placed upon enterprise and production the l evening paper placed upon electors who have been too importunate and . Government that have been too ready .0 conform in more or less extravagant measure to the demands of pre- ' datory followers. It now remains to . be seen how far the Coalition Government will dare towards effective re- -. storation. SUPERANNUATION STABILITY. i . The most striking—ode might almost say—the most alarming feature cf the Commission’s report is its allusion to the State Superannuation Funds, ...‘/Were the three funds put into liquidation,” its runs, “and were' existing annuities treated as prefer-ne-tial claims against the funds, there would be nothing whatever available to refund to existing contributors any portion of their contributions. -• The position is even worse, in that, on an actual basis the present Funds would be insufficient to meet the present annuitants, and, taking the three founds as a whole, the present annui- , tants or allowances, while contributors still in the Service would forfeit all the contributions they have paid r ; to the Funds. ”* : Taking together the State’s liabilities to the Public Service, teachers and railway servants an actuarial* deficiency cf about twen-ty-three millions would be shown. PRIME MINISTER’S VIEW. Mr Forbes, who had spent a. large r , ; rt Of tiir.-e during the week end in making, himself familiar with the suggestions and recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission, expressed himself to-day. as grateful for the manner in which -the members of the Commission had applied themselves to a very onerous and tiresome task. Th y had s.pplied him and h’s colleagues with a vast amount of informa and with many suggestionsre:thing b ck for several decades.. T. e need for. prompt and effe.t ve ate :tion t> the matters revealed by the 'Go nmission was cb.i us tnd imperative, said, the Prime Mnister; but the task could not be compete in a week cr a month or ev.n in a year, if it was. to be done thorouffly, r that obviously would be the business of the Government. He and his .colleagues were fully alive to the gravity of the position, to the urgency of p acing the obigations of the Domiinon in order, and of submitting the facts to the public.