Bill would rock boat

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 1

Bill would rock boat

PA Wellington The State Sector Bill would destabilise the Public Service and jeopardise the democratic system, said a former chairman of the State Services Commission yesterday. Dr Mervyn Probine, chairman of the commission from 1981 to 1986, told the Parliamentary select committee examining the bill that there was nothing in it which would prevent politicisation and corruption of the Public Service. The commission panel which now makes senior Public Service appointments would be replaced with a system where the Prime Minister could appoint heads of departments. If the bill proceeded in its present form it would mean a return to inefficiency, corruption and the inability of the Public Service to attract able staff, Dr Probine said. Without the checks and balances found in other countries, such as a written constitution or a second chamber, political appointments would jeopardise the democratic process. The Public Service now was as free of corruption as any in the world. It gave indirect protection against Government excesses because senior officers could give professional and neutral policy advice without fear of political reprisal, said Dr Probine.