Treasury Keeps Watch On State Spending

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31168, 19 September 1966, Page 14

Treasury Keeps Watch On State Spending

The Government in its capital spending is at least as limited as most private enterprise, the Minister of Electricity, Mr Shand, told a group from.the New Zealand Administrative Staff College in Wellington recently, according to a statement from the Tourist and Publicity Department

He was discussing the growth of the New Zealand Electricity Department, which, he said, posed problems even more difficult than first appeared. “In private enterprise, as in

Government you are almost always limited in your capital spending to what you can efford,” he told those present. They came from business firms in Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, Wanganui,

Hastings and Wellington. Two trade union representatives were included.

“The Treasury, which is the watchdog of the State, is always zealous to point out the limitations imposed by reality on what we would like to take from the kitty,” Mr Shand said. He drew attention to the contrast between the size of the Electricity Department’s operations and “the poky little temporary war-time

building in which we house our headquarters.” Mr Shand said he doubted whether anyone in private enterprise would recommend to their shareholders that they should so stint themselves in accommodation. , The Government did not like it either, and one could not pretend it was efficient, the Minister said. But the situation was typical of Government, he claimed.

It was evidence that the department, faced with its

tremendous essential expansion. had been obliged to trim to the bone the inessentials, or the things thought to be inessential.

Twenty years ago, the capital programme for the Electricity Department was a little more than £4 million. The figure had leapt up until this year it would like to have had more than £5O million. Annual turnover was more than £3O million now.

The acting-general manager. Mr G. T. Wilson, said that with a capital outlay of well over £3OO million, the department was a major business organisation by world standards.

The group was on a field visit held as part of the second session of the 1966 executive management course being conducted by the staff college at Paraparaumu from September 11 to September 23. Other groups from the course went to other business concerns in and near Wellington. The object of the course is to provide intensive studies in the principles and techniques of business organisation and administration.