PUBLIC SERVICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23378, 21 June 1939, Page 16

PUBLIC SERVICE

grave besponsibility SPECIAL RESEARCH NEEDED IMPORTANCE TO DEMOCRACY Upon the ability of the public service to devise new administrative forms would depend the success of many experiments at present being carried out in New Zealand, said Mr. P. MartinSmith, director of tho Workers' Kduentional Association, in an address to members of tho Auckland branch of the New Zealand Instituto of Public Administration. These now forms which had to he devised, continued Mr. Martin-Smith, could not be evolved by those whose brains had been dulled and whose habits had been fixed by the ceaseless pressure of traditional routine. Too often men were placed in positions where they had to devise those now forms when they were past the prime of life. Dangers to be Avoided In any form of education for fitting public servants for the tasks ahead of them, research should play an important part. There was a danger of social legislation being passed before adequate investigation had been undertaken into the results of that legislation. The politician was in danger of being engrossed with short-term policies and quick returns. If dangers wore to he avoided, said Mr. Martin-Smith, it was essential that a large part of tho work of the public service should be in tho nature of research. Some of this would be of a day-to-day type and would be closely linked with Government policy. High Qualities Essential

Other research would be along tho linos of solving urcent problems such as housing. Then there was work of a long-term nature which should be entirely separated from Government policy of the day. Such activity would be that involved in sociological problems of land settlement and general rural life, population trends, or the native problem. Tho speaker concluded by saving the problems ahead were many and called for high qualities in tho public .servant. If tho service failed to respond to tho demands upon it, tho future of democracy would not be bright.