MEMBERS’ SALARIES

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 55, 28 November 1929, Page 10

MEMBERS’ SALARIES

THE £lOO ALLOWANCE “DISGRACE TO ANY COUNTRY” Vigorous criticism of the action of members of Parliament in voting themselves the additional £lOO allowance was made by Mr. H. F. Johnston, Reform candidate for Hutt, in the course of his opening speech at Lower Hutt last night. Mr. Johnston declared that the manner in which the matter had been put through the House would be a disgrace to any country or to the Government of any country in the world. (Applause). He did not believe for one moment that had Sir Joseph Ward been in health and present in the House he would have permitted the clause in the Appropriation Bill to go through. The Government, however, had to take the blame for its administration. The Bill, of course, was a Government measure, and it was the Government which controlled the finances of the country. The sum involved in the increase would have been of more value had it been applied to the heating of schools to enable the pupils to keep warm. Lower-Paid Men First. The point had been made by the Leader of the Opposition (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) that the Government should first consider giving some assistance to the lower-paid men in the Civil Service ; members should not be repaid before the men who had made the salary sacrifices asked of them. The Labour Party and the United Party had full control of the House, and the measures before it, and the increase in members’ honoraria was agreed to. There was no mandate from the people for an increase. As had been announced in the Press the only members who would not accept the grant were Messrs. Coates, Wright and Polson. The proper action for the Government to take in the matter would have been to present the proposal for an increase in the last session of the Parliament, and to have given full opportunity for debate. The sitting members would have then received no pecuniary benefit. The question could be discussed at the elections, and new members could take it with clean hands. That was the proper course to follow. Civil Service “Cuts.”

Dealing with the salaries of public servants, the candidate declared that the public service was the first care aud trust of the Reform Party, as it had been returned to power originally to reform it. It knew the requirements of the service and what the service meant to the country. It was not a question of bidding for votes, but a question of looking calmly at the position and of seeing what could be done for those men who made sacrifices years ago when the finances of the country were in a critical condition and who could not now move past the limits set for the lower grades. It would be better to use the additional taxation to enable the Civil Servants to get their dues than to spend it on costly undertakings for which the country was never likely to receive a penny of benefit. (Applause.) The Civil Service should be consistently guarded from political attack, its members should be paid for the work they were doing, and they should have every chance of advancement. (Applause.)

CHURCH SCHOOL TO BENEFIT BONUS DECLINED BY FOURTH MEMBER Dominion Special Service. Auckland, November 27. Parliament’s generosity to its members in the matter of the £lOO bonus has proved a windfall for the Diocesan High School for Girls, Auckland. Joining the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P. for Wellington Suburbs, and Mr. W. J. Polson, M.P. for Stratford, Mr. H. R. Jenkins, M.P. for Parnell, has declined to make use of the bonus. However, while the other three have refused to accept the money, Mr. Jenkins stated to-day that he considered it better to accept it and pass it on to some worthy object. Accordingly he has asked the Diocesan High School authorities to allocate his bonus to the school swimming bath.