WHICH PARTY?

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 185, 6 August 1936, Page 10

WHICH PARTY?

LIBERTY OF CHOICE. CIVIL SERVANTS' FREEDOM. MR. SAVAGE STATE? ATTITUDE

(By Telwrrnph.—Pnrtln'mpntnrv Roportpr.) WKUJNTITOX. Wetlnescln y.

Statin? that T)r. Johnson onne said that noth'ri" would ever be attempted if all possible objections - ruist. first be overcome, the Prime Minister, Mr.

j Savage, replying to the second reading , debate 011 the Political Disabilities

I Removal Bill in the House of Repre- ' sentatives to-day, sr<id it would take a lot to knock over that argument. "It is handy when the Opposition happens to be on the warpath.'' he # added, j Mr. Savage said that the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Forbes) had said that a postmaster might be on duty and contest an election at the same time. "That is not going to happen," said Mr. Savage, "and if anything is necessary to make that doubly sure we will see to it all right." There was something in the suggestion that had been made in regard to a postmaster and it misrht apply to any other position and there was nothing , to stop such a person standing unless it I were a refusal of leave. He would have i to make some sort of application.

"[ will alter tTintTie continued. "We can have it done in another place if not here." It was not the intention to allow any public servant to hold down his job and run for Parliament, at the same time drawing his salary and contesting a seat. The Secretary of the Treasury had been brought into the discussion.. "If he has half as much sense as I think he has he will never be a candidate for Parliament," commented Mr. Savage. " You Are Right There." The Leader of .the Opposition, Mr Forbes: I think you are right there. Replying to an intersection that such an officer might have reached the retiring age. the Prime Minister said that in such case he would not be bound in the way that had been suggested.

Mi*'. Forbes: He would be a private citizen then.

Mr. Sa\age said he could hot imagine the Secretary of the Treasury, even if he did stand for Parliament against the Minister of Finance, using the information which he had gathered in hi.s official position to tell the constituents the methods of the present Administration in regard to Treasury matters. He could not {imagine anybody doing sueh a thing It ; Would kill a candidate's chances from the commencement, and he would deserve it.

- T!ie Prime M'nister said he had advocated free speech for the Public Service, and some of them had started to use it on him. "I am not infallible." he said. "I am like other people and can make ■mistakes. Some of the public servants think I have made them already. That does not alter their right to express themselves. I have to be big enough to meet them, in the open and abide by the consequences.*' ' '? Mr. Savage said'he had to justify |$yerything.^-the^.^^vernmen doing and if i£'could be* shown that they were wrong thei-- would take their beating like men. He could not see that there be dividing line betsrecn the rptiblio seryine- find private employment. ! Both branches had the same interests in everything that made life worth living, but under ithe law as -it stood civil could not exercise tlieir rights like other people. Their rights had been taken away -b^-,legislation in the oast. •It was quite evident that a suggestion had beenl made that if another Government came in the members of the Civil .Service would be victimised.

Party Affiliations. Mr. Savage said he was not sure that the public service ■ had' always voted Labour. He was not in a position to know. It was not a question of who anybody Was <roing to vote for.. -A member of the Civil Service 'might join the Reform party or the AIS.R.S. might take a ballot to decide whether its members would affiliate with the National party. They had a perfect right to do that.

"If the worst comes to the worst and they want to ioin the Labour party, why should they not have that right?" asked Mr. Savage.

The Prime Minister said that the public service was hot such a wonderl'u 1 service after all.

Mr. Forbes: A lot of people want to get there.

Mr. Savage: A lot of people want to get out of the service and take up better positions outside.

Conscientious Objectors. Mr. Forbes asked what about the con scientious objector 1

Mr. Savage said that conscientious objectors were found in the industrial field , and in the political field. He would not like to compel them to vote. He did not want to do;an..injustice to anyone. . He wanted to make it quite clear that all unions could use their funds in the way the majority of members, agreed, whether for industrial or political purposes.. It had to be done according to their rules. He did not expect to convince his friends on the Opposition benches the Government had a job to do and was doing it as well as it could.

Mr. F. W. Schramm (Government, Auckland East): The right men in the right place.

Mr. Savage: Yes, the right men in the right place.

The second reading was carried on the voices.