Miss Waring attacks committee system

Press, 12 July 1979, Page 21

Miss Waring attacks committee system

PA Wellington The Public Expenditure Committee — Parliament’s watch-dog on Government spending — need more staff and should be free to make information available to Parliament, the committees chairman (Miss Marilyn Waring) has said. In an attack on the Parliament ary committee system, Miss Waring said she was "hampered by petty privilege," and believed that, in seeking change she was hoping for the impossible. The committee could only be effective if it had the co-operation of depart- ' mental officers who had the right to refuse to protide information and "shelter behind the all-en-compassing Government policy screen.” Evidence provided to the committee was confidential and could only be used in debates in the House, she said in a speech to the Civil Service

Institute at Wellington. "The rules of the House permit evidence provided to the committee to be used in debate,” she said. “However, the limitations of time can inhibit the disclosure of information provided to the committee to which the public — and members of Parliament who are not members of the Public Expenditure Committee — may be entitled.” Miss Waring. said she found a great deal of the work an exercise in frustration. “I have 45 State trading undertakings or Government departments to examine with limited time, limited resources, and the same crazy frustrations in acquiring much-needed staff as you undoubtedly have,” she said. “I come to a committee with the recent experience of being seen in some quarters as too much the right arm — or rubber stamp — of the Audit De-

partment, and in others as ‘ the same tool of the Prime ! Minister. “I come into a situation ; where, with the best will j in the world, the 10 mem- | bers can be outflanked and outmanoeuvred by , wily, experienced public i servants who still chuckle i about how they ‘got’ such ) and such a member of | Parliament when they ( asked for data and were : buried under several ; inches of computer printout,” she said. Miss' Waring said the work of the Public Expenditure Committee was hard to measure in terms of achievement and the attainment of its goal of examining Government spending. “Our ability in this area is totally dependent on the willingness of the executive and their servants to be accountable. At the end of each year, they will know, far more than I ever will, how close we came,” said Miss Waring.