HEAVY ITEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 21, 24 July 1940, Page 8

HEAVY ITEM

TRAVELLING COSTS

AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT

Amounts provided for travelling expenses in the vote of the Department of Agriculture were reduced to a mileage basis by Mr. A. E. Jull (National, Waipawa) in th House of Representatives yesterday. He said they worked out at a trip once round the world every working day of the week and still left an odd trip round the world for a Minister of the Crown.

Mr. Jull went through the items for travelling expenses and allowances for the Department and said they aggregated £48,650. The Dominion was at war. Ministers of the Crown were telling the people that they were doing everything possible to reduce unnecessary expenditure, and yet there was this sum for travelling expenses for one Department. Mr. Jull said that allowing £15,000, £16,000, or £17,000 for luncheons and other odds and ends, and taking the figure at £32,000 for expenditure on petrol at, say, 2s a gallon and allowing 20 miles to the gallon, this would represent about 6,000,000 miles of travelling a year. .Mr. J. G. Barclay' (Government, Marsden): Most of the departmental men travel in trains. The Minister of Lands (the Hon. F. Langstone) also interjected with the remark that Mr. Jull assumed that the departmental officers travelled in motor-cars. AROMA OF PETROL NECESSARY. "I know they do," retorted Mr. Jull. "I have seen three of them in one small town in one day with three Government cars. They couldn't talk agriculture unless there was an aroma of petrol around them." Mr. Jull added that he was not going to say anything about Ministers travelling in cars, because they did look so nice. (Laughter.) He asked the Minister to consider whether it was possible to reduce the amount of. travelling expenses. Replying. Mr. Langstone referred to the number of different divisions within the Department and the service each was rendering. He agreed that if there was any unnecessary travelling and it could be rationalised or regulated, that should be done. It was easy for the member for Waipawa, in a facetious kind of way, to ridicule and sling off at everybody Mr. Jull: There is nothing much to sling off about when I am telling you that the expenses come to £48,000. Mr. Langstone said that if the money was worthily spent and the people in the main were getting service for the money expended, then there was not much complaint. The matter would be looked into, and he would see what could be done. KEEN FIELD OFFICERS. ! Mr W. J. Poison (National, Stratford)" said that he had had the pleasure of travelling long distances with officers of the Agriculture Department during the "produce more" campaign and he had a great deal of sympathy for them. They were allowed a certain amount for a certain distance and then the allowance was stepped down. That had the effect of,. discouraging them from travelling out into the back country where there was work for them, work they were keen to do. He suggested that there should be some change in the system of travelling expenses so that the men would be encouraged to go further a£fld. In reply to a question from the Prime Minister, Mr. Poison said that he agreed that travelling expenses were closely watched. ....