THE OAMARU MAIL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1019. GRANT TO MINISTERS' SECRETARIES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 13907, 7 November 1919, Page 4

THE OAMARU MAIL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1019. GRANT TO MINISTERS' SECRETARIES.

In our last, issue we denounced the proposal made bv the Government m the Finance Bill" to allow Ministers' secretaries to count their sessional bonuses in computing their superannuation allowances. That, proposal, which was struck out bv the House, introduced a new and dangerous principle m connection' with ihe superannuation schemes, inasmuch as it proposed that extraneous pavmems to public servants should bo permitted to increase the amount: of superannuation allowance to them on retiring, notwithstanding that- _no contribution had been made to the superannuation Fund in lespect to their special and temporary supplemental pavmeiU-s. The proposal was limited to" Secretaries' salaries, but it would have been impossible to preserve such an outrageous differentiation. As Sir Joseph Ward (pointed out.'a precedent having boon set, the Government could not have resisted a demand from the whole of the public servants to lie accorded a similar right. That- would have meant, hringing into the computation of future superannuation allowances a-sum of . £2,000.000. and would have east upon' the Superannuation Funds a heavy permanent liability ior which no provision had been made in the. schemes. ' The ultimate result would have- been to bankrupt the three funds and force Parliament- to come to their rescue with greatly increased grants drawn from the pockets of theratepavers of the country. The Primp Minister recognised the strength of the Leader of the Opposition's position, for he. somewhat grudgingly, assented to the clause being struck out or the Bill. But the Government found another means of compensating their secretaries bv inserting in the Appropriation Bill authority to pay to them special allowances, and to that proposal the House readily 'assented. To some it- iriav appear that the same end has been "reached by another means, and that the House, with the assent of Sir J/iscph Ward, has stultified itself. But nnv assumption of that kind has no warrant. The two things are as wide apart as the poles, but those who are unversed in such matters may not perceive the difference. What has been done is perfectly legitimate and, under tire circumstances, completely justifiable. It amounts to nothing' more than the granting for a year of a bonus to meet the enhanced cost of living. It may be repeated by the new- Parliament or it may not. It in no way imposes any liability upon the superannunation fund, nor involves a permanent charge upon the pockets of the taxpayers. What was proposed-to be done, but which was not done because of the resistance of Sir Joseph Ward, was outrageously improper. It proposed to throw a new and heavy burden upon a fund already actuarially unsound, and impose upon the people the obligation to make good a big deficiency in order to keep faith with the servants of the State.