Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, MARCH 12th., 1932. ECONOMY COMMISSION.

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 March 1932, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, MARCH 12th., 1932. ECONOMY COMMISSION.

*PHE advice to 4 ‘ask and ye shall receive,” seldom brings immediate results, in these days of depression—but there are exceptions. In the latter class may be placed the Economy Commission, appointed by the New Zealand Govern-

ment to recommend ways and

means of reducing the national ex-1 penditure, with a view to enabling a partial balancing of. the Budget. The request for recommendations has certainly brought results, but a summary of these, published yesterday, makes reading the reverse of pleasant for New Zealanders. Savings 'totalling practically £3,000,000 are recommended, to be provided for immediately, while further contingent economies, which may take effect in the next financial year, amount to approximately an additional £250,000. To bring about these objectives, numerous national services are marked for retrenchment. It is recommended, for instance, that the vote for education be reduced to the extent of £369,950, and an immediate and emphatic protest may be expected from the teaching profession, the members of which are not diffident about airing their grievances. The proposal, that free conveyance of pupils to all. primary and post-primary schools, be discontinued, will seriously affect the West Coast, with its extensive area and widely-separated schools in the more sparsely-settled districts, and means an additional burden upon the financial resources of parents, who will also be affected by the proposed imposition of a fee upon pupils entering for the proficiency and other examinations. There can be little serious objection to the raising of the school admission age

.to six years, and the proposed abolition of the Education Board system will be welcomed by Schoo]; Committees, who for a considerable time have found their powers dwindling, and themselves becoming merely figure-heads, over-ruled by the Education Boards. An outcry is inevitable against the suggested reduction in pensions, and it will be regrettable if this is found really necessary, particularly in the case of the payments now being made to the aged, widows, miners, and ex-soldiers, while the lowering of the income exemption to £39 per annum will also be a hardship, as the present exemption of £52 per annum does not err on the side of generosity. If maternity allowances should cease, the lower-paid Tvage-earners will find themselves further harassed. The motorists are not likely to view, with equanimity, the proposal that at least £500.000 should be transferred from the taxes paid by them, to aid in balancing the Budget, nor will they approve the conversion to the Consolidated Fund of the revenue now being credited to the Main Highways Fund, in view of the fact that they already consider themselves hardly done by, so far as the expenditure up-

on the upkeep of the roads is concerned. Probably, the most fruitful source of protest will be the recommendation of the Commission, that a further 10 per cent, reduction in the salaries and wages of Civil Servants, should take effect as from April 1. The first “cut” was most unwelcome, but was accepted under protest, and it is not difficult to imagine the reception accorded to the latest proposal.

One suggestion made by the Commission, that drastic “cuts” in the Legislative Department should be made, including a reduction in the number of members of Parliament, is likely to find favour throughout the country, if not in the ranks of Parliamentarians. The cost of each session is enormous, and the opinion has long been held that the benefits received are out of all proportion to the cost. The present emergency session, for instance, has provided a convincing demonstration of the time-wasting

abilities of certain politicians, and reform in this direction is overdue. Altogether, the report of the Commission gives ample cause for serious reflection, but it is to be hoped that the proposals. made will receive fair and .impartial consideiation, and that they will not be used merely as a. peg upon which to hang criticism of a party nature. The times are too serious, for that kind of thing.