$27,000 Govt car bill

Press, 22 September 1983, Page 3

$27,000 Govt car bill

PA Wellington Use of Public Service garage cars by a former Prime Minister, Sir John Marshall, was' charged out at more than $27,000 last year. Sir John said that while the stim looked astronomical, it did not mean he was making an unreasonable use of Government-owned cars. Like other former Prime Ministers and GovemorsGeneral, Sir John is entitled to use chauffeur-driven or self-drive cars provided by the garage. In 1982-83 the official cost of providing a car for Sir John was $27,493, according to a figure given to Parliament’s public expenditure committee by the Legislative Department. For Sir Keith Holyoake, a former Governor-General and Prime Minister, the cost was $13,133 and for another former GovernorGeneral, Sir Denis Blundell, it was $4763. Dame Ruth Kirk, as the widow of a Labour Prime Minister, Mr Norman Kirk, also has the right to use the cars. Last year the cost was $6159.

Cabinet Ministers are entitled to use the Public Service garage cars, as is the leader of the Opposition, Mr David Lange. In 1982-83 his use cost $39,215. The total cost of the service for former Prime Ministers, Governors-Gen-eral, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker, and the chairman of committee was just under $124,000.

The clerk of the House, Mr Charles Littlejohn, said that he had prepared a list of the amounts paid out for the use of the cars, but he refused to give any details. This would be unfair to the individuals involved, he said.

The costs had been prepared solely on the basis of the charge-out rate for the cars. The cost to the Legislative Department was solely on the basis of use — the more an individual used the car, the higher the cost.