CABINET MINISTERS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 264, 4 August 1936, Page 10

CABINET MINISTERS

Under-Secretaries to be Appointed

LEGISLATIVE PROVISION Parliamentary under-secretarias to Cabinet Ministers are to be given official status under the terms of a Bill which will probably be introduced in the House of Representatives this afternoon, according to an announcement made in an interview last evening by the Prime Minister (Rt, Hon. M. J. Savage). No limit is to be placed on the number of under-secretaries who can be appointed under the Bill, but Mr. Savage stated that it was the intention of the Government to select men for their special qualifications and to appoint them only as the necessity arose.

At present Mr. J. A. Lee (Government, Grey Lynn) is the only Parliamentary under-secretary in the House. He was appointed to assist the Prime Minister in that capacity when the task of Cabinet selection was undertaken shortly after the election last year. As the law stands at present, it was largely a case of a title without status, although Mr. Lee ever since the election has taken a prominent part in assisting to shape Government policy on several important' questions. Mr. Lee’s appointment as Undersecretary in Charge of State Housing may be announced shortly after the passing of the projected legislation. Thereafter other appointments to similar posts in connection with other departments will be announced from time to time. The Government is pursuing its course with regard to a national superannuation and health insurance scheme, and it is possible that before long Dr. D. G. McMillan (Government, Dunedin West) may be appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secre-tary to the Minister of Health (Hon. P. Fraser) for special duties in connection with this proposal.