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Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 August 1939, Page 8

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COMMONWEALTH OFFICIALS. ECHO OF CONTRACT INQUIRY By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received This Day, noon.) CANBERRA, This Day. Acting on the recommendation of the Federal Public Service Board, the Federal Executive Council has decided to remove from their present posts both Messrs Mehafl’ey (Commonwealth Di-rector-General of Works) and Orwin. Mr Mehafl’ey is to become Assistant-Director-General of Works and Mr Orwin is to be transferred to the works branch in Canberra. Each will receive reduced salary.

Last month an inquiry was ordered into the signing of the contract for extensions of the Sydney G.P.O. at a ccst of £400.000. The Prime Minister announced that an official of the post office had signed a contract binding the Government with a firm of contractors despite instructions on the previous day that no finality should be reached pending an inquiry into the question of the material to be used. A Royal Commission inquired into the matter and reported that the Commonwealth Director-General of Works, Mr Mehaffey, had failed in his duty in not giving proper instructions that the contract was not to be signed, but that there was no suspicion of bribery or dishonesty of any sort among Commonwealth Ministers or departmental officers in the acceptance of the tender.