CIVIL SERVICE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 213, 9 September 1935, Page 6

CIVIL SERVICE.

It has become a habit with Governments in this country to set up Boards and Commissions whenever any suggestion is made for some change in control. The latest suggestion is a Commission of three to take the place of a single administrative head in the Public Service Department. As might be expected, the reason put forward for such a change is that the work is too much for one man, and that some division of duties is essential. There is no need to remind the public that the number of civil servants has grown; that is painfully obvious. But a Public Service Board is more likely to stimulate the growth than to check it, and it is very doubtful whether division of authority would lead to the reforms which are required in the ranks and in the methods of recruitment. If the duties of/ controlling the Civil Service have become too much for a Commissioner he should have more assistance; that is the solution found in Australia and in Britain. Civil Service efficiency has been built up at Home upon unity of control and by drawing in young men of ability between the ages of 21 and 24 who have achieved success at the universities. In New Zealand too much emphasis is laid upon formal training and too little on the capability of mentally marshalling facts and figures; the bureaucratic mind is the result. When an official rises in the scale to reach a position of importance and responsibility in the latter part of his career he is seriously handicapped by lack of earlier opportunity to develop his full powers.

If the Civil Service Commissioner has been over-burdened, the explanation probably is that he has taken too much on his own shoulders. The relief should come from those in the positions immediately below him. It is an indication of weakness in the system that the Government has to look around its various Departments in considering the question of a new Commissioner. This may explain the suggestion of a Board. That, however, would add to the cost while giving little promise of a general overhaul. Besides, there is the difficulty of finding men with the necessary qualifications to serve on Boards of this kind. Lately the Government has had to raise its price to attract applicants from private employment, and this is already creating a new class of high-salaried administrators. It also makes some of the departmental heads appear very poorly paid. A new expansion in the Public Service is beginning, and the time is therefore opportune for introducing reforms. Special attention should be given to several smaller branches of the service, such as the Islands administration and the control of native affairs.