ESTIMATES DEBATE

Grey River Argus, 20 September 1944, Page 5

ESTIMATES DEBATE

OVERSEA MINISTERS Opposition Complains of Cost P.A. WELLINGTON, Sept. 19. The House of Representatives continued with consideration of Estimates to-day, after, a brief period spent on formal business. Mr S. G. Holland (Opposition Leader) speaking to a vote of £43,498 for the Audit Department, said the Auditor-Gen-eral’s report was a very courageous document, but the Auditor-General seemed to be limited to the examination of what was legally provide;: for. Mr Holland suggested that the Audi-tor-General’s powers might be extended to enable him to scrutinise such things as destruction of defence stores, which was not referred to in th P Auditor-General’s report. Mr Fraser said the Auditor-General had power to examine and to report on all phases cf public expenditure. The fact that he did not refer to waste of Army stores wa's, P rima facie, evidence that such waste had not .occurred. Mr Fraser said the House could have a special opportunity to discuss expenditure by the Service Departments. The vote was passed. Mr W. S. Goosman (Nat., Waikato), speaking to the Island Territories vote of £292,885, criticised an item of £81,500 for the provision of an aerodrome for Raratonga. He said that, in tlie Public Accounts Committee, he had asked for details. He. was given a sheet which showed that the sum included £18,350 for the levelling of a strip 5000 feet long. That charge seemed ridiculous, unless a’ mountain had been moved. Mr Fraser said that Raratonga was part of the air chain from America into the Pacific. The levelling of the runways made the job expensive. Apart from being a link in the Pacific chain, this aerodrome would enable New Zealand to keep in closer touch with the Island territory. Raratonga was part of New Zealand territory, and the question must arise of the representation of Raratongans in the House of Representatives, either in conjunction with one of the Maori seats, or in some other way. With regard to the Raratonga aerodrome, Mr Fraser said the item given allowed for the shifting of 175,000 cubic yards at two shillings per yard. This had accounted for £17,500, and the additional £l,OOO was for dealing with coral outcrops. The vote was carried. Spepking to a vote of £36,070 for the Prime" Minister’s Department, Mr F. W. Doidge (Nat., Tauranga). said a vote of £5,500 for furniture and fittings seemed excessive. In the evening Mr Fraser, replying to criticism of enlargement of accommodation for the Prime Minister’s Department and the furnishing thereof, said the staff totalled 75. There was no room for them in 'the old offices formerly occupied by the Department. The staff had complained of the old quarters, and rightly so. Mr Fraser said that, altogether, there 'were 40 rooms occupied by the Prime Minister’s Department, including the syhper staff and censorship and publicity. The cost of providing the 40 rooms was about £42,000 and of furnishing them £55,000. That worked out at over £lOO per room for furnishing. In normal times he would consider that extravagant, but under war conditions the price was not high. It had been a good job, and there was nothing extravagant about it. Departments and Ministers were entitled to accommodation . and furnishings as good as an ordinary private business, and that was all that had been done. Th e vote for the Prime Minister’s Department was passed. “Surely the Honourable Member is not going to speak of the Minister to Moscow,” interjected Mr. Fraser, when Mr. A. J. Murdoch (Nat. Marsden) rose to speak to the vote of £177,146 for the Department of External Affairs

Mr. Murdoch said the estimated expenditure for Washington this year was £43,204 an increase of twentyone per cent, over last year. “The expenditure for the new legation to Moscow, where one of the Prime Minister’s white .haired laddies has been sent, is needlessly extravagant.” The vote for the whole Department was an increase of thirty-six per cent, over the past year, a total far in excess of what this country should be called upon to pay. Mr. Algie (Nat Remuera) said there was an extraordinary expenditure for legations abroad. It was a shocking waste of public money. Mr. Fraser said he would remind the House that the Opposition nad frequently asked when New Zealand was going to send representatives to Canada and to Washington. The representation of New Zealand at Moscow was extremely important, because Russia was a Pacific Power. It might be necessary to send a representative to Chungking for the same reason. It might also be necessary to be represented in India. The first job that the Minister of Moscow had to do was to take part in the signing of the Finnish Peace Treaty, and tne second was to look after the interest of New Zealanders who were prisoners of war in East Prussia. Tne Minister had been asked, by the Russian authorities, to look after th e interests of released prisoners. That was a very important job. But that was not the reason why he was sent there. He had been sent to Moscow because it was a capital that -would play an important part in the future world affairs. If the Opposition thought the cost of legations too high, that was arguable, but on broad principle, the- Government was quite prepared to face the issue, ana to go to the electors and ask tor al vote of confidence to place New Zealand in its proper position m tne eyes of the world. , Mr. Nash said it was not practicable to get anything like the results and influence we must have as a member of the British Common wealth unless.we had a M ax Washington. A trade repiesentative could not conduct discussions. Alt i diplomatic representatives t' ll - Unsaid. The money spent on re P;® s ®n_ tation abroad was the best, ment that New Zealand e\ei maae - Mr. Doidge said £1,500 yearly was too high a salary for Mr. Boswell, thMinister to Moscow. If he. were the right man for the job there would be less complaint. It was fantastic nonsense for a little country like ours to spend £lBO,OOO a year on overseas representation. . Mr. W. A. Sheat (Nat. Paea) said that if some representation in Moscow was necessary, we have had our own attache at the British Embassy, instead of all this paraphernalia costing us nineteen thousand pounds a year. . . 1 A lively discussion on Dominion representation abroad was continued by several other speakers. Mr. Fraser said that Mr. Nash had done'a magnificent job in Washington. making numerous friendships, and winning high respect. If this country had been searched with a 1 microscope, it could not have found 1 a better man for the job which Mr, Nash had done in Washington., rhe I results bore out, that claim.