Size Of The Cabinet

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29390, 17 December 1960, Page 12

Size Of The Cabinet

One question that must occur to many is why New Zealand should need so large a Cabinet. Sixteen members out of a Parliamentary strength of 80 is a large proportion. Indeed, with officers of the House (Mr Speaker and the Chairman of Committees) and Under-Secre-taries, nearly half the members of a governing party may hold office of some kind; and not all Ministers have ordinary departmental responsibilities to keep them fully occupied. The answer to the question, of course, is the demand New Zealanders make on their Cabinet Ministers for attendance at this event and that, often an event of little

significance. While the country expects this kind of attention the busiest Ministers are intolerably overworked and even those with lesser posts have as much as they can do. In selecting his Cabinet the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) has had to follow established custom in sharing the burden as widely as possible. He has, however, made one important innovation. He has grouped the duties of his Ministers in a logical way. That should lead the Government towards the eminently practicable reform of combining some of the grouped departments, to their greater efficiency and, consequently, economy.