CONTROL OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 148, 17 June 1920, Page 10

CONTROL OF PUBLIC SERVICE

STATEMENT BY GENERAL

SECRETARY.

An additional statement was made by the General Secretary of the New Zealand Public Service Association yesterday.

"On my return to Wellington," Mr. Millar said, "my attention was drawn to a paragraph which appeared in The' Post of Thursday last, the effect of which is a contradiction ot the statement that the_ Government, in. removing certain positions from the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commissioner, had acted contrary to the provisions of the Public Service Act. In defence, section 4of the Public Service Act, which provides that the Act shall not apply 'to any officer or class of officers to whom or to which, on the recommendation of and for special reasons assigned by the Commissioner, the Governor-in-Council declares that this Act shall not apply,' was quoted. " Unfortunately for the Government, however, it cannot take this shelter, for, despite the barrier of the Act, it introduced snecial legislation which, in the case of the Repatriation Department, the Public Trustee, the Housing Branch of the Labour Department, and the Board of Trade, removed certain powers of appointment from the Public Service Commissioner. " If the Prime Minister attempts to introduce legislation to carry out his suggestions that the appointment of permanent heads and administrative officers should be once more in political hands, he will be repeating the offence unless he has the recommendation of the Public Service Commissioner under section 4 of the Act. He can hardly have that because the recently appointed Public Service Commissioner, at our first interview with him, gave the association a definits assurance that he considered it his duty to stand by the Public Service Act so far as the protection of full .nonpolitiEai control of the Public Service is concerned."