JOBS FOR POLITICAL FOLLOWERS

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 284, 30 August 1945, Page 8

JOBS FOR POLITICAL FOLLOWERS

Opposition Allegations

PUBLIC SERVICE UNREST SUGGESTED

Criticizing what he alleged were-politi-cal appointments to Public Service positions, Mr. HOLYOAKE (N’„ Paluatu.i) alleged in the House of Representatives last night during the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill that conditions were approaching those of . Tammany Had. There was some outside organization, neither of local nor general government, with power to say that a man should ue appointed to a position because ot ms service to the Labour Party. He. referred to various appointments of men who had'been trade union secretaries or Labour candidates for Parliament. Mr. HOLYOAKE opened his address by saying he was proud of the traditions built, by the Publie Service but in, the last few years there had arisen a spirit of Mr. FRASER, Prime Minister: I deny that. . , , x , Mr. HOLYOAKE continued that last year for the first time a large section of the Public Service —the railways—was out ou strike. Mr. FRASER: Don t talk nonsense. AA’hut about 11)25? - Mr. HOLYOAKE: You are an expert on that. I’m dealing with current history. If you care to go back iuto history I don't mind. . . Mr. HOLYOAKE continued that m the past 10 wears there had been a considerable increase in the number of civil servants. , , . . . Mr ERASER: And in their salaries. Mr. HOLYOAKE said that there were new departments, bureaux, tribunals, licensing authorities, commissions, and so on —all appointed by a Government which said it would not delegate authority away from the people’s elected representatives. The main cause of unrest in the 1 üblic Service today was that the chief executive appointments to many ot these new bodies were political instead of from the Public Service. The genuine public servant was overlooked and the mam qualification was that the applicant should be cither a trade union secretary or a prominent Labour Party supporter, lake Mr. Scrimgeour, though the GovernmeUb had caught the tiger by the tai there. Then there was the president of tlie Ae» Zealand Labour Party, Air. James Roberts. to whom the nation should be grateful for giving up previous jobs to become a member of the Waterfront Control Commission for a miserable £2o a week. From what the public knew of the industrial trouble on the wharves the. cost of loading and the difficulty of getting a turn-round, of ships, there had been tv' revolutionary improvement. Some figures from that well-known training colleget for business executives—-the Workers’ Union —had been able to be. uleased from their duties to take up job* under Mr. Roberts at £BOO and LDCK) a venr. It might be a coincidence that they held high rank in the Labour I arty, but this coincidence rankled with men who h:»l a lifetime in the Public Service. Next were the four transport licensing authorities with life and death power over the transport ot this country. One, Mr. Phelan, had been a trade union secretary. Mr. Skoglund had been a town clerk, but had stood in the Dabouv interests. What experience had these men with transport? . Mr FRASER: No more than the Railways’Board appointed by your Government. „ ... Mr HOLYOAKE said there was Mr. Langford, formerly a country storekeeper at Winchester. South Canterbury. He was probably an excellent storekeeper, the only one there. Members who hail listened in to the radio adventures ot Bo and Zeb, the country storekeepers, would sav that here was the place to find a man to control transport. It might be a coincidence that Mr. Langford had .stood in the Labour interests more than once. Mr. POLSON. (N., Stratford): Don t forget Mr. Mark Silverstone. Mr HOLYOAKE continued that every one of these appointments should have gone to public servants with a lifetime experience in transport: men in the Railways Department. The land eales committees had provided another splendid opportunity for the Government to appoint trade union secretaries. Excellent, trained men in the public service were overlooked. In the last decade they had seen political chicanery: the “backdoor boys” getting the plums. Public servants paid into their superannuation fund and paid social security. By paying the former they were disqualified from the benefits of the latter. Mr. PARRY. Minister in Charge or Social Security: That's incorrect, but it’s-nothing to you. , , ~ Mr. HOLYOAKE concluded that the National Party stood for opportunity for every public servant to qualify for every job. "a complete overhaul of wages and superannuation, and return to commissioner control. The. civil servants received a 10 per cent, rise, but militant unions got away with the swag. Mr. COMBS (L., Wellington Suburbs) referred to men who had epent a lifetime in the public service anil risen to the highest positions. There , was Mr. Berendsen, Minister at Washington: the Administrator of Samoa : tlie General Manager of Railways; the Director-Gen-eral of the Post and Telegraph Department. and others. The Commissioner of Taxes, the Comptroller of Customs, the Secretary of the Treasury, and many other departmental heads had started as cadets in the Public Service. Outsiders wore not brought in to develop departments that were not now. The Public Service had never been taken a'wny from Public Service Commissioner control. The Public Service Commissioner was a«jniich in control today ns he was in 1935. Tn the case of the Waterfront Control ( oinmission it was necessary to get men from outside, for men brought up in a Government department could not be expected to have the experience to run the business of the wharves. . , Mr. MACKLEY (N., Alasterton) stud there had been various appointments which substantiated what Mr. Holyoake had said. An instance was the .appointment of a man named Reid who had served the Minister of Finance. Mr. Nash, in a private capacity before he was placed in the Publie Service in which he now superseded men of long experience. Mr. NASH : He never worked for me in a private capacity. Mr. MAUK LEY said he challenged the Minister of finance to disprove time Mr. Reid had worked for him in the capacity of secretary. Air. NASH: It is untrue. Further exchanges between Mr. Mackley and llie Minister led to Mr. Speaker requesting the former to, withdraw the allegation which was denied by Ihe Minister.

Mr. MACKLEY said this man's preferment and appointment, to a position in Washington over ollieers ot long years of service to their credit, was an instance of Tamniauyisni on the part of the present Government. Another instance was the appointment of thejiresent inspector of motor-vehicles. There had been sufficient appointments from outside I he Public Service at lite behest of tile Government Io indicate that the Public Service Commissioner hud 110 say in regard to them. Recent reports of litigation which was initiated and clieii dropped between two public servants was. he believed, the first, case in the history of the Xew Zealand public service of such an occurrence and il was due entirely to the ineptitude and lack of discipline maintained by the present Government in that particular regard. The Government was trying to do the very thing that should he avoided in the'Public Service. Any titienipt to industrialize or unionize rhe Public Service would have an unfortunate ending for this country. The Public Service should be absolutely free of parly politics. and tlie Public Service Commissioner should be left free to make appointments and promotions in accordance with the Act. So long as the Government followed tlie patli it was taking a» present it was looking for trouble. Remarks Resented. Mr. SIT,LI VAX, Minister of Supply, said that the statements by the member for Masterton were totally incorrect. There was not a little of justice or fair play in them. X’ul only his assertion that the present was the most ansatisfactory administration he (Mr. Maekley) as general manager of railways had had to deal with incorrect, but Mr. Markley had never during the long period they'wcTe associated as Minister of Railways and general manager expressed any remark of that kind. Be

had never been more astonished by anything he had listened to in the House, and found it difficult to believe that guch statements came from a man who was drinking water. , Mr. HOLLAND, Leader of the Opposition, asked if the Minister was in order in making such an inference. He regretted the descent to personalities in the debate. Remarks of this type should not go on and were lowering Ihe dignity of the House as well as the gtundard of debates which they should seek to maintain. " , . , Mr. NASH, Acting Leader of the House, said lie agreed with Mr. Holland's contention thnt such remarks should not be allowed, but it was only fitting that they should take iuto account what caused the remarks and he regretted that the standard of debate in, the House had sunk very low that night. The Leader of the Opposition should have called his own member to order for assailing the character of the Minister, who was one of the greatest men in the House. Mr. SPEAKER said that in the first place there was far i°° much cross talk in the House which was entirely out of order. He asked members to help him in carrying out the rules of the House. If they did not they would be stopped from speaking when they infringed. There were about only six members who were in the habit of offending and he intended to take action against them. The debate that might hnd seen a good deal of personal remarks which were out of order and'not in keeping with the dignity of the House. Members on both sides were to blame. So far as the point of order was concerned, the Minister of Supply could have meant his remarks jocularly, lie took it that they were used in a mild sense but they could be taken in another way. He asked members to refrain from indulging in personalities and in cross-talk. The debates were broadcast and open to public criticism and there had been criticism. To uphold the dignity of the House members must obey the rules. He would carry them out without fear or favour.

Mr. SULLIVAN said that if he had offended ho expressed his regret, but the Speaker would understand that members did nt limes suffer a feeling of rage when statements were made about them which were entirely without foundation and were entirely incorrect —to such an extent that it was utterly incredible that they could be made. With all due and proper respect for the forms of tlie House, a memtier's honour required that he should repudiate in the most definite and emphatic terms, and as something not to be tolerated, remarks of the kiud made bv the member for Masterton. Mr. SEMPLIU Minister of Works, said that the transport licensing authorities mentioned by Mr. Holyoake were doing a good job, and had tlie confidence of the transport industry. Because a man had a political principle which he might have bud since his early youth, should he be debarred from a position? Mr. HOLYOAKE: It should not be the sole qualification. Mr. SEMPLE said he did not think that a public servant should be taken out of a permanent job, when he was climbing the ladder, and placed in a temporary position at a lesser salary. lie did not know of any civil servant who had wanted the jobs. There were some men in the Labour movement to whom he’ would not give a job catching dogs for the destructor. Nor would he give a job to some of the rag. tag and bobtail of the National Party. Air. HOLYOAKE : Should not a publie servant, have the first opportunity of a public position? Mr. SEMPLE: Certainly not Why not give someone outside a chance? AV by should the Government positions be monopolized by the public service? Air. SEAIPLE said he had opposed the appointment of Dr. W. B. Sutch to the Railways Tribunal and bait cabled the Prime Minister about it. However, Dr. Sutch was the railwaymen’s choice, though he would have, preferred a man from inside their organization. Reply by Minister. Mr. NASH, replying to the debate, said that he had never employed John Reid as alleged by Air. Alaekley. John Reid was a lawyer a’lid had come to hiiu and said he would like to work for, him. The Government employed him at £3OO a year as secretary to the Alinieter of Finance. No man was more respected in Lower Hutt limn John Reid. The member for Alasterton had attacked the character of one of the cleanest, men' who had ever worked for him. Air. MACKLEY : I attacked the principle. , , , Air. NASH said that John Reid had applied to enter the Public Service and had been appointed to the Treasury. There had been an appeal against the appointment, but the appeal had been dismissed. In attacking the appointment the member for Alasterton had not only attacked Reid but .the members of the Appeal Board. Reid was appointed on his (Air. Nash’s) recommendation to Washington, and in appointments of that kind it hud to be determined whether men were suitable or otherwise. John Heid was appointed in accordance with the standard procedure. There was no peculiar flaw respecting publie servants’ contributions to both superannuation and social security. Persons outside the Public Service who also contributed to superannuation funds had to pay social security, and if their superannuation allowance barred them under the means test they did not get the social security age benefit. But all other benefits of .social security were available to both parties and these were less than paid for by the contributions of auy person. Because the war was over it did not moan they could dismiss nil the forces at once. There were £7(),00l).0p0 worth of equipment in lite country whirl) might be worth only £211,1)00,000 in six months if all the men were released at once. He wanted to affirm that it would have been impossible to run the country during the lust live years without making outside appointments, and with all tlie respect he bad for tlie public servants, they could not have acted inside the Alinistry of Supply where men with textile, oil and purchasing experience were required. Air. HOLYOAKE: I was dealing with the four transport appointments. Air. NASH said be did not hear those remarks, but lie reaffirmed that the country could not have been run without those outside appointments. Mr. [‘OLSON I (N„ Stratford): It is disheartening to public servants when they cannot .get the opportunity of reaching high appointments. Air. NASH said every public servant i should have that opportunity. He also ] had the right of nppi'.'li. Inti to stlggest/l that nobody outside tlie Public Service should lie appointed to certain positions was eiitirelv 'wrung. Mr. HOLYOAKE: Did anyone say that ?

Mr. XASII said that inference was to be taken from some of the remarks. The issue was the appointment of the best man for lire job. If a public servant were the best man then he should get the job. but in limes such as they had just passed through that might not always be practicable. The House then rose.

TRIBUTE TO CHIEF JUSTICE

Reasons For Extending

Tenn Of Office

There were good reasons for extending the term of ollie,■> of the Chief Justice. Sir Michael Myers, mainly matters outside Xew Zealand, in which a man of his proven experience and ability could continue to serve the country, said tlie Attor-ney-General. Mr. MASOX. in moving tlie second rending of the Judicature Amendment Rill yeoterdny. The Rill was approved by the Opposition, which also endorsed tributes to the Chief Justice, and was passed through all stages. The Rill extended the term of oilice of the present Chief Justice, who was due to retire, for one year. The Bill wa« read a second and third time mid passed.

TINNED FRUIT IN AIR FORCE CANTEENS

"Are there over supplies of tinned pineapple and peaches in I lie various Air Force canteens, and is it permissible for present Air Force personnel Io purchase these for distribution to their civilian friends'.'” asked Mr. SMITH <X.. Bay of Island), in notice of a question to tlie Minister of Supply. Mr. Sullivan. Ho also asked if on lhe closing of Air Force camps these supplies would be made available to tlie general public.