THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

Northern Advocate, 5 September 1913, Page 4

THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

When the present Attorney-Gen-eral originally advanced proposals for removing the Public Service from political control the Government of the day resisted change (1) on the grounds of "democratic principle," and (2) on the contention that the system then prevailing was entirely satisfactory. The "principle" involved in this matter was never very clearly expressed, and the majority of people soon came to the conclusion that the desirable principles in connection with the Public Service were that entrance thereto should be by the front door and not through influence, that (promotion should be by merit, and that the country was entitled to know that for the huge sum annually expended on the Public Service good value in the way of services rendered was received. So far as the old system being satisfactory was concerned good reason for difference of opinion existed, and on this point neither the majority of Civil Servants nor those outsiders who knew something of the facts were quite prepared to agree with the affirmative dogma. The question became one of the main issues at last general election, and as everyone now knows, one of the first acts of the Reformers was to pass the legislation necessary for the appointment of Public Service Commissioners. This was one of the best things done by any Government in New Zealand of recent years, and the AttorneyGeneral is entitled to the cordial thanks of the taxpayers for his valiant efforts in the public interest. Now for the first time in the history of New Zealand we have the Civil

Service under management and overslight and something akin to system and order in a domain where only chaos existed. The first report of the Commissioners, just presented to Parliament, sustains the belief that in their field of operations most excellent opportunities are presented for reformation. The Commissioners point out that in respect to economics their present recommendations will lead to a saving of £ 47,000 a year. "There is still, however, a great deal to be done to bring departments into a thorough condition of efficiency, and no time will be lost to ensure the accomplishment of this when the heavy work in connection with the final settling of the classification is completed. There is in the meantime abundant evidence to show that greater efficiency can be secured in many departments at a reduced cost of working." One thing that immediately struck the Commissioners was the innate conservatism of some of the departments, often carried to such an extreme as to discourage schemes of improvement, which, if adopted, would have saved the country many thousands of pounds. The tendency has indeed been not only to follow, obsolete

methods, but to regard them as the only perfect ones. In some departments the Commissioners found that no foresight had been shown in training cadets, that many officers in responsible positions were engaged on merely routine duties, that a great deal of unnecessary "overtime" was paid for, and that in many cases there had been but a vague perception of the fact that one of the most important duties of an officer was to be regular in attendance. "In one large department, no attendance-books were in existence, and in others no attempt was made to see that they were properly kept. It is easy to calculate that if twenty officers are ten minutes late in the morning and ten minutes late after the lunch interval, and that there are as many minutes lost in corridor conferences at other times in the day, the staff is 5 per cent, greater than it need be if officers are punctual in their attendance. It has been reported that there has been a considerable increase in efficiency in this respect in those departments in which exception had to be taken to the prevailing methods. As the Public Service officers of New Zealand have an extremely liberal holiday scale, it is imperative that they should perform their full duty when they are required to attend at their offices." The Public Service Commissioners seem to have arrived none too soon.