PUBLIC SERVICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22823, 6 March 1936, Page 8

PUBLIC SERVICE

THE FUTURE CONTROL AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT OBJECTIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT (Peb United Pbess Association) WELLINGTON", March 5. An important statement bearing on the future control of the Public Service was made to-day by the Prime Minister, Mr M. J. Savage, when replying to representations made to him and to the Minister, of Finance, Mr W. Nash, by the executive of the Public Service Association ,of New Zealand. The association requested that the Government should appoint a Public Service Commissioner without delay and should also consider' the appointment of a commission of three to control the service in future. It was urged that at least one member of the commission should be appointed after consultation with the association.

Mr Savage pointed out that since its return to office the Government had been engaged on major issues. Before the Government did anything of a far-reach-ing nature affecting the Public Service it would naturally consult the association. The matter of the appointment of a Public Service Commissioner was one of the very least of the questions with which they had to deal. They realised, of course, that a permanent appointment should be made at the earliest possible moment and that would be done, but as he had indicated there were bigger things that had to be done first. Some of the Ministers were working for very long hours—from 8 a.m. till midnight—that was what they were up against at the moment in trying to implement their programme. They had been talking about that programme for long enough and the time had come to put It into operation. Concerning the appointment of n Public Service Commissioner and two assistant commissioners, Mr Savage said the fact was that the whole institution needed some serious thought. Frankly, he did not know of anything better, but up to the present time he was not sure that the Public Service Commissioner's office had not been a place for the Government to hide itself in. The objective of the Government was about the same as that of the association. They wanted satisfaction in the Public Service and they wanted the co-operation of the pnblic servants. The Government could only get that when they worked with them. Then, they could expect co-opera-tion in return, but not otherwise. It was a question of the Government getting the best ideas relating to the appointment of commissioners or the setting up of nn institution which would do the work tliat the commissioner was doing, and when that was. done a lot of detailed work naturally followed.