“Country Governed by Department Heads”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1040, 2 August 1930, Page 16

“Country Governed by Department Heads”

LABOUR M.P.’S CHARGE COMMITTEES IN DARKNESS TIIE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Friday. Severe criticism of the Government because of the fact that Committees of the House of Representatives were not told what was going on in the various departments of State that concerned them was uttered by Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour —Manukau) in the course of his speech in the Budget debate this afternoon. Mr. Jordan advocated the setting up of committees in the various departments to advise the Ministers and to help them on questions that affected their departments. He started by criticising the break-ing-up of the ranks of the Public Service into too many different societies, which had no solidarity. He said there should be Societies of the various departments it necessary, but there should also be oue central organisation which should be similar to the Natonal Whitley Council in England. Mr. Jordan strongly denounced the Government's policy regarding the retrenchment of the Defence Force o! New Zealand, and said that the officers should have been consulted, as should the officers of any department affected. RAILWAY REORGANISATION None of the 300 dismissed railway men had been consulted, and yet there should be a committee Het up in the railway service to consider how best tlie system could be popularised and improved. If such a committee were set up he was confident that there would be a much lighter and more frequent service on suburban lines, and the abolition of first-class carriages, which were not patronised. Why should there be a first-class on railways any more than on trams and buses? There was no need for firstclass carriages. which only added weight to the train which the engine drew. The Government did not consult the men who handled the trains, but paid the men to ask for their opinions. Yet when tho opinions of those men were received they were not always acceptable. Mr. Jordan gave as an example of the degree of departmental control in force that he had approached the Minister of Railways and the General Manager, Mr. H. H. Sterling, in respect to making tho Penrose station more accessible. The General Manager had vetoed the idea, saying: “It's no use, Mr. Jordan, people w.ill travel in buses, anyway.”

Mr. Jordan claimed that the time had come when the General Manager should be asked what was to be done about it. The system was losing more every year. At the time the Railway Commission had been set up. Mr. Jordan had urged that the services of Mr. J. T. Hogan, as chairman of the Railways Committee of the House, should be enlisted and the proposal had been promised consideration, yet an ex-member of the House and one who had less railway experience than Mr. Hogan had been appointed chairman of the commission. COMMITTEES KEPT IN DARK Another instance tn which committees of the House had been ignored was in that the Defence Committee had known nothing of the intentions of the Government regarding compulsory training, although it was entitled to know. Then, men were being dismissed from the Otahuhu Workshops next week, yet Mr. Jordan, as a member of the Railways Committee, knew nothing about it. The time had conic when committees of the House should know something of the services they were connected with. Mr. Jordan said he had heard that an English expert was to come to New Zealand to investigate the military system, yet the Defence Committee knew nothing of it. The Minister of Defence, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe. said nothing of the sort was intended. Mr. Jordan thanked the Minister for the assurance, and continued that when lie asked the Minister of Railways and the general manager about the accessibility of the Penrose Station. Mr. Sterling had vetoed the idea, while the Minister of Railways looked wise and had to ask the general manager what he was going to do about it. There was too much of that. When deputations met the Ministers, the Ministers looked wise and stenographers took down notes, but the report went on to the head of the department. The Minister should be able to call a Departmental Committee and decide on the question. Mr. A. M. Samuel (Reform; — Thames): It would be a good idea to have Parliamentary under-secretaries instead of heads of departments. Mr. Jordan agreed, and said that at the present time Parliament was not governing the country. It was the heads of departments, as instanced by the General Manager of Railways in the case of the Penrose Station. Mr. Jordan said there seemed to be no business ability in the railways. When tho Minister and he used to work in the railways there was some, but since they had left the position seemed to have grown worse. The Minister of Railways, the Hon. W. A. Veitch: It has improved since I came back. Mr. Jordan: The people of Wanganui may ask the hon. Minister to go back to work there again. That, will be their good fortune. (Laughter.) NEW ZEALAND’S COMMITMENTS Later Mr. Jordan quoted Lieuten-ant-Commander Connors as saying at the Navy League Conference that he had it from a high military officer that New Zealand was under an agreement to provide an expeditionary force of 80,000 men in case of emergency. Mr. Jordan did not know of that, and lie thought the Defence Committee of the House should know. Mr. T. W. McDonald (United-Wai-rarapa), chairman of the Defence Committee: I don’t know. Mr. Jordan claimed that, since the chairman did not know, there was a stronger claim that the committee should know. What commitments, he asked, had New Zealand made for the privision of an expeditionary force? The Minister of Defence, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe: There might be some agreement, but I do not know at present. Mr. Jordan said it was a fine position when the Minister of Defence said there might be an agreement, but he did not know. Mr. Samuel: He hasn’t been there long enough. The Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates: Does the Government know? A Labour Member: That’s a Reform commitment. Mr. Jordan: Perhaps the Leader of the Opposition can tell us.