NEW MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 78, 1 April 1920, Page 6

NEW MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS

With the erutry of a new Minister for PubEc Works there is some prospect that a much-criticised Department may be exculpated or at. least understood. At present there is a great deal of faultfinding which might (or might not) be silenced By a better understanding on the part; of the public, but the blame for ■the absence of such an understanding restsi not 1 upon the public but upon the Department, and in using the word "Department" we include the Ministerial head thereof. When some fault of omission or commission becomes a matter of ■prima facie evidence, a Civil servant may be prevented by Civil Service conditions from making an answer for the better information of the public, but the Minister is under no such disability. It should be, Weed, one of the prime duties of a Minister to interpret his department its policy and also its administration, —to the people. A vast field of useful information could be worked in by the I Minister of Public Works or the 'Minis-, ter of Railways—by almost any Minister, in fact—without giving a-way any Departmental secret, any Cabinet confidence, or —to. come down lower—any party "point." In other countries a good Minister uses his powers of publicity in the national interest; an average Minister uses them in his own or his party's interest; but the average New Zealand Minister does not use them in anybody's interest. This uninspiring silence, whether considered from the national standpoint or the party standpoint, is the worst course of the three. Ostrich-tactics on the part of Ministers, and their disinclination to say anything -until it is extracted from them, are not in the interests either of progressive Parliamentarism or of efficient bureaucracy. And all over the world Parliaments and •bureaucracies are on their trial, and have need to Justify themselves. To the personal qualities of the retiring Minister for Public Works we have always done justice, but no consideration of character, age, or any personal factor should hamper criticism of a man's fitness for a Ministerial post; nor should personal or political affection enter into th« matter. It may, perhaps, be contended that the retiring Minister's qualities of tight-sitting and reticence, and his ability to say "No," were valuable at one stage of the war; but the ■need has long existed of a Minister with more constructive imagination, a better knowledge of the uses of publicity, and a determination to let the people know what valuable servants they possess in the Department of Public Works. Some of these officers we know to be men of ability and devotion, and. there is no possible reason why the public,.,through the Minister, should not know it too. If the. depai'tmental system can be defended, by all means let it be defended; but if the system, and not the individuals, is at! fault, why should, not the .position be- frankly faced 1- and candidly explained?. Already there seems to be some change afoot. Following on critir cism of the Department's working by the Chambers of Commerce Conference, and by private individuals, we notice the following statement of', a. correspondent of tho Dominion :

It would bo interesting to know whether Mr. Crabbo's opinion of Public Works methods is based on his dealing with it during Uio time when its engineering was directed (?) by a. clerical head or on. anything- which has occurred since the engineering work has been placed definitely under the control of the Chief Koginaor, n* «'«« doiio recently.. I think tha former is BxoiwMe. wd ua hone

that the placing of engineering construction under the direct control of engineers who aro aleo business men will speedily eliminate the advorse impression' existing in the mind 3oi some members of tho Chambers of Commerce. .

We give this statement,' tbis criticism of system and affirmation of' reform, for what it may be worth. All we wish to say ourselves is that the ability that manifested itself in the later stages of the construction of the Main Trunk railway has not yet quitted the .Department j and it rests upon the new Minister to take the public into his confidence, and , to explain—defend, if necessary— the working of the system as well as the personnel.

Criticism of the hydro-electrical branch of the Department, in its relations with local bodies and prospective ■power-users, has developedl into a demand for a special board to deal with 'electrical power supply. A concrete case of criticism is that of the Wellington City Council, the electrical construction policy of which hinges entirely.upon the Government's hydro-electrical plans, but which.has a chronic complaint that essential facts are not fortheonring from the Public Works Department. As is explained to-day in another article, on the Government's plans .pivots the question whether the City Council should spend nearly £200,000 on a patch work power plant, or probably double the sum on a new plant; yet, with hundreds of thousands of. pounds at-stake, and with electrical policy at the parting of the ways, the Council still seems to be short of essential information. . Now, are the required facts not in the possession of the Department's experts, or are the experts prevented from fully communicating them; and, if.the latter, for what reason? Possibly the Department has a complete reply on the whole case; if so, to make the reply, and to satisfy the public mind, would be in the interests of all parties. From the public point of view, there.is someth'ir!gl<lpeculiarly irritating. in\a persistently reticent attitude on the part of a constructive branch not of private enterprise but of the public service. It would be- better in the long run to court criticism'by press and public than to persist in saying nothing for fear that you may say the wrong thing. So far as some of the Government Departments are concerned, in the public eye they might as well have no Minister at all. This is bad national policy, and is not even good partyism. Surely it is time for the Government and Parliament to wake up.