ELIMINATE WASTE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 106, 7 May 1942, Page 5

ELIMINATE WASTE

EFFICIENCY DRIVE

MR. HOLLAND'S SUGGESTIONS

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, this day

When complimenting the Government on the appointing of Mr. James Fletcher as Controller of Defence Construction, and Mr. George Jackson as Director of Production, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Holland, in the financial debate in the House of Representatives last night advocated a nation-wide efficiency drive to dig out incompetence and waste.

He suggested that a committee of the House should sit continuously for examining accounts of defence expenditure, and that an investigating commission, not a fault-finding bureau, should be set up and given the widest of powers. He criticised competitive purchasing by the army and air force, and proposed instead a central purchasing authority for all the Services.

Turning to the Public Service, Mr. Holland said there was plenty of room for economy there. He instanced the multiplicity of architectural branches in the various departments.

"Cut out the Internal Marketing Department," was another of Mr. Holland's suggestions. "It only exists for the purpose of rationing eggs, where there are none," he said. As another example he held up for inspection a wizened lemon, which he amitted had shrunk just a little since it was bought in Wellington for 4d.

"Let's Wipe It Out" A chorus of approving cries greeted Mr. Holland's suggestion that the Legislative Council should be eliminated. "Unless we can make the Legislative Council a more useful show, let's wipe it out, and stop the humbug and extravagance," he said. "Open up all Government offices on Saturday, and release men," he added. "I suggest that consideration also be given to the question of whether or not higher paid officers in the fighting services should be paying taxes, social security, national security and on income." Some of them, he said, were in an infinitely better position than they had ever been in before, and they should help to pay their Way " Broadcasting Service

The conversion of the Commercial Broadcasting Service into a real, live, useful and worthwhile information bureau was another suggestion made by Mr. Holland. "Stop telling the neoDle to buy cures and quack medicfnes," he said. "Start telling them some of the real live war news.