Greymouth Evening Star. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1947. Chamber Of Commerce And The Public Service

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1947, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1947. Chamber Of Commerce And The Public Service

THE Greymouth Chamber of Commerce decided at its meeting this week to inform the Associated Chambers of Commerce that “it was felt locally that all Government departments were not overstaffed and also that it was not in a position to judge the overall position in the Dominion to the extent of stating whether a 10 per cent, reduction was advisable or not.” That may be considered a reasonable attitude but it fails to take cognisance‘of the reason for the steep increase in the number of public servants in the past 10 years. The Associated Chambers, on the other hand, would have the pruning knife applied to such effect as to reduce the service by 9000 members a reduction of 10 per cent., the same as that decided on in Britain. Except for nominating one department, the National Service Department, it is not, however, prepared to say just where the knife should be applied and would leave this deeision to the Government.

It cannot be denied that many of the essential services are today under-staffed, they would, of course, find recruiting easier if they did not themselves have to compete with sister departments, expanded and expanding unnecessarily, for the inadequate number of persons available for employment. The fact remains, however, that to attempt to cut the staffing of essential, departments in present conditions would inevitably result in lowering the standard of service to which the public is entitled and which is now being maintained in some eases with difficulty. The root cause of the trouble, to which neither the Associated Chambers nor the local chamber referred, is the policy of the Government. Socialism means an ever-in-creasing body of public servants. There are, for instance, inspectors of this and inspectors of that, controllers of this and controllers of that, all requiring wellstaffed offices in order to maintain an effective, crippling grip on other people’s business. It is understandable enough that in these circumstances the State payroll has increased to such an extent that the number now approaches 100,000.

The process of expansion has affected the whole community, not least the members of essential departments. The employment of so many extra people in a non-productive capacity has meant for them, in common with the remainder of the community, a smaller supply of essential goods—the shortages are manifold — higher prices with a resultant rise in the cost of living and a greater burden of taxation in order to pay the salaries of the numerous additions to the State payroll. It cannot be gainsaid, of course, that a good proportion of the additional State employees are themselves providing new essential service, but no widespread knowledge of existing conditions is required for a realisation that many more could be far more usefully employed, so far as the general welfare of the country is concerned, in productive industry. The remedy is a matter of Government policy or rather a change of policy. The instalments of Socialism which it has imposed on this country have been both expensive and wasteful. The indications are that, far from their being a diminution, the number of State employees will continue to increase.

Bakers And Eggs

bakers have been directed to use egg-pulp in place of fresh eggs. This, they naturally complain, will force up their costs of production and the increase in the ordinary course of events will, it is expected, have to be met by the public by way of higher prices. This is bad enough but there is an even more serious aspect of the problem. The Internal Marketing Division apparently hopes to divert the fresh eggs that the bakers would normally use into channels leading to the supply of household requirements in districts where there is a shortage. The bakers have been in the habit of taking eggs during the flush season from small

poultry farmers and cold-storing a large proportion of them in pulp form for use in the off season. Is there any certainty that these eggs will reach the destination that the department intends for them? It has largely been the experience in other parts of New Zealand where similar action has been taken that the small suppliers, deprived of their own little markets and the personal contact that goes with them, soon, reduce their flocks to proportions meeting only their own domestic requirements. The farmer’s wife, who kept a few dozen hens as a profitable sideline, has long since been discouraged by the sight of a mass of red tape, and the towns and cities in general have thus lost a source of supply, which in the aggregate was substantial. Thejre have, of course, been other contributory causes to the decline of poultry-keeping but there is no gainsaying the fact that State interference has meant fewer eggs.