WHAT FOR!

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1414, 11 October 1923, Page 5

WHAT FOR!

STATISTICS & MORE STATISTICS. "That a protest be made against the returns required for statistical and other purposes which are so frequently called for by various Government Departments, the compilation of which imposes a good deal of unnecessary work for no apparent purpose other than to keep many civil servants in employment; and that it is considered the Government could practice economy in these matters." The foregoing was a motion proposed at Tuesday's meeting of the Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce, and duly seconded. Speaking to the motion. Mr Warburton said a mass of statistical information had to be prepared and forwarded to Wellington. What was it all for? He was confident the facts and figures were never likely to be used. It seemed to him that the whole trouble was that there was a huge army of civil servants who had to be found employment of some sort, and this demand for statistics was the outcome. The system had grown enormously since the war. Illustrating his point, he detailed personal experiences on a trip to Australia. Officialdom seemed to have run riot in this Dominion. Australia was just as loyal, yet there were no irksome demands for a mass of information there. Leaving and entering the Dominion involved a huge amount of information being set to paper. Australia had no such absurd regulations. Mr Coyne opposed the motion. The Government should be the best judges as to whether the information was required. Mr Clark said as a manufacturer he spoke feelingly. It was an absolute waste of time preparing sheaves of figures as to how many nails are used in a week or a job, and such like rubbish. It was a tax on industry, and increased the cost of production. Was there any need for it? Granted that some statistics are necessary, he thought the thing was overdone. Mr McArthur said that he was one who suffered by the demand growing steadily for statistics. The Power Board was required to prepare very elaborate and exact reports to all sorts of Departments. The time occupied in compiling statistics represented about one week per year of his whole staff. The statements were often required to be supplied in triplicate, and while he agreed that some of the information asked for was necessary, he could not understand the reason for such a vast amount of it. After some further discussion, the mover asked leave to amend his motion to send it on to the conference of Associated Chambers. This was agreed to, and it was decided accordingly.