COMMISSIONER CONTROL

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIV, Issue 16326, 23 August 1913, Page 12

COMMISSIONER CONTROL

LARGE SALARIES OUTSIDE THEIR SCOPE. MR MILLAR MARVELS. [From Our Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, August 22. “ Why the control of heads of Departments should bo kept in the hands of Ministers is a marvel to me,” declared the Hon J. A. Millar to-niglit, referring to the omission of all administrative officers from the Public Service Commissioners’ classification list. “ I thought the Act was to free tho House from any political patronage,” he added.

Tho main Estimates, according to Mr Millar’s statement, showed an increase of £600,000, but no salaries are shown except those of heads of Departments. Under the Act there was no maximum salary fixed for these officers, though in the lower ranks of the service everyone, from charwomen upwards had a fixed maximum, and could only be re-classi-fied every five years. He did not suppose the classification list covered 8000 people. Increased work, he pointed out, meant a larger staff, and did not fall upon departmental heads, who had no right to be running loose at the sweet will of tho Ministry of the day.

Sir Joseph Ward asked if the normal increase was provided automatically by the Public Service Commissioners? Mr Millar had pointed out one of the vicious anomalies which would cause much heart-burning _ among the rank and file, whose salaries would be fixed by an authority quite beyond the control of Parliament. The Hon A. L. Hordman answered that he was sorry it was impossible to give the amount of increases at the present stage, for the reason that the classification was not final until the appeals had been heard. It was estimated, when tho 'Bill was being passed last year, that tho additional increase over and above the normal increase, would be between £IO,OOO and £12,000, but he had been led to believe that the actual sum would be less. The exclusion of administrative officers was. in pursuance of the Australian practice, the underlying principle being that the responsibilities of departmental heads varied very largely.