THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 1938 THE PUBLIC SERVICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23002, 1 April 1938, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 1938 THE PUBLIC SERVICE

A problem correctly described by the Prime Minister as "vital to tho survival of a democratic community" —the problem of the efficient staffing of the Public Service—was raised yesterday by the New Zealand University Students' Association in a deputation to the Government. The deputation was concerned with a particular aspect—the creation of better opportunities for graduates to enter the service—but its argument necessarily opened up a much wider field. Mr. Savage answered the students sympathetically, but vaguely. More to the point was the undertaking given by the Minister of Education that an authoritative inquiry would be made into the whole question. A general review of service conditions, methods of recruitment and promotion, should serve a useful purpose. A generation has elapsed since staffing aspects of the services were last comprehensively examined. The reforms instituted before the war, of which commission control was the essence, have served well, but the system is no doubt due for review and probably overhaul as well. The functions of Government have grown out of knowledge since 1912 and the administrative personnel has likewise increased. So also have the calls on it, and the demands for efficiency, for general and special knowledge, and administrative ability of the highest order. The question is whether the existing system of recruitment draws into the ranks of the Public Service those with the enlarged calibre clearly necessary. To answer it truly is "vital to the survival of a democratic community." Most relevant to any inquiry is the place given to graduates in the service. The students have raised an important issue and it may be hoped that when Mr. Fraser frames his order of reference this aspect will be specifically noted. What Mr. Savage claims is no doubt true, that in recent years . many more opportunities have been provided for graduates. But this development has not been of set policy, but rather the by-product of other policies. Graduates, or the special knowledge they possess, have been in demand and fortunately the graduates possessing the requisite qualifications have been available. More than that is required. Opportunities for graduates should be more than incidental; their entry to the service should be part of the regular system. A good precedent is found in the British Public Service, a model of efficiency, integrity and judgment, and world-famed for the outstanding public servants it produces. Its secret has been to attract many of the best brains from, the universities. Graduates are recruited chiefly as cadets for the administrative or highest class, and also for the second or executive class. Except occasionally, New Zealand takes in most of her servants at the secondary school stage, but Britain chooses staffs for the higher divisions at an age when personality and character as well as brains can be more"*surely assessed. So are given the best guarantees for the survival of democracy—a highly skilled and able permanent staff. The politician is more or less an amateur, his policies are often transient; the Public Service, on the other hand, is professional and permanent, being the core of the modern State. The t enormous expansion of th'e latter in recent years, itra growing responsibilities and the importunate demands made on it, ranks the selection and training of capable servants as one of the first duties of Government,

To open the door to graduates will not be sufficient in itself. Adequate initial rewards must be offered and the prospect of a subsequent career attractive enough to interest ithe best brains issuing from the university colleges. So the outflow of talent might be largely staunched and New Zealand made the richer. As it is, departments sometimes ask for the highest qualifications at salaries no better than the wages of unskilled labour. Even when the higher branches of the service are reached, rewards do not appear commensurate with duties and responsibilities, and are unevenly apportioned. The present Government has created some-of the most glaring anomalies. The directors of the two branches of broadcasting receive higher salaries than the heads of most State departments, although these must possess high professional qualifications and administrative experience. Or, to quote a curious case, the Director of Marketing, with enormous responsibilities in the export trade, receives £ISOO a year, while the Director of Internal Marketing is paid £2OOO. The subject might be treated in considerable detail, but it is properly one for the "authoritative inquiry" Mr. Fraser has promised, along with many other problems requiring solution to the end of fashioning a more efficient administrative machine. Unless such can be devised, the modern State will break down under its own weight, or at the least proceed haltingly and wastefully. Good government and efficient social servico will depend largely on the successful engagement of good and efficient | servants to carry out the policy of the directing Government.