Public Works Expenditure.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18922, 10 February 1927, Page 8

Public Works Expenditure.

It would be pleasant to think that (He rebuke administered on Tuesday to an Auckland deputation will not need to be repeated during the life of the present Government. Whatever anyone may say about the Reform Party, or may think, the one thing that can not be said or thought about it is that its distribution of public money has been political. The leaders of the Labour and Liberal Parties have indeed admitted this in such plain terms that to deny it is merely absurd; as absurd as it would be to pretend that the Liberal Party in office did not do this. But there are unfortunately very many absurd people in every country, and very many malicious and unscrupulous ones, and the most the Minister's rebuke will do will be to silence those tongues which are least dangerous. It is still the cose that there are North and South Islands, and that the Minister must listen to Parliament and Parliament to the mnn in the street. In other words no Government can invariably do what is .right, or even what it believes to be right. However honest it may bo and however fearless, situations will arise in connexion -with public works in which-sec-tional or provincial or insular pressure will modify its programme. We might indeed say that so long as the development of the country (in the matter of public works) is entrusted to Cabinet, and by Cabinet to a single Minister, public opinion ought to be able to affret programmes to a reasonable extent, since it was public opinion in the first place that inspired them. But the trouble is that public opinion under the present system can, and often does, confuse programme?, and sometimes, and not less if the Government is honest and tlrm, confuses national politics. In Mr Williams's case, for example, everybody knows that he meant precisely what he said when he told the Takahue deputation that he did not care whether he remained in Parliament or not. But men like Mr Williams arc not available every day in any Party, and when they arc found their honesty and courage are not in themselves a sure defence against malignancy. The only defence where public works are concerned is a non-political body in charge of expenditure—subject of course to Parliament in respect to the gross vote; and it would be a defence, not only against ignorant, selfish, and malicious criticism, but against honest blunders. For as matters stand thu ablest administrator in (he world has ueituer the leisure day by day, nor the security year by year, to fmd out accurately what the country's needs are; and if he knew he still could not examine them in a politically oare-free atmosphere. Even when he has the capacity to see past his nose he is forbidden by circumstances from looking , past, while an independent Board could ignore political changes altogether.