ECONOMY COMMISSION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 14 March 1932, Page 4

ECONOMY COMMISSION.

There is not a single recommendation in the report of the Economy .Commission which could not have been brought forward by any Cabinet of average ability—therefore, the appointment of that Commission has been a waste of public money. Furthermore, the probabilities are that the recommendations, while causing bitter debates, will not be adopted, except, perhaps, in the case of the less important matters. _ Many members of the House will deal with the recommendations, for the most part, with one eye on their constituency, and keeping in mind how any action they take will affect their position at the next election. One or two items in the report will meet with the general approval of the people of the Dominion. The reduction in the number of members of both Houses of Parliament is one of the most sane proposals ever placed in a commission’s report. We have for a long time urged the cutting down of the number of members of the House of Representatives to forty or fifty, while the Legislative Council could be abolished altogether, and the taxpayer saved the cost of this extravagance. The curtailment of privileges enjoyed by members is another sensible suggestion in the report. The Commission’s recommendations in regard to pensions will no doubt provoke considerable comment inside and outside of the House, and this matter will require very careful handling to avoid injustice being done. The Education vote can certainly be reduced by a considerable amount, because there lias undoubtedly been a shocking waste of money in this connection. In order to bah ance the Budget, more money is required, but there should first of all be a placing by the Government of a substantial share of the taxation on the shoulders of those best able to bear it, and at present this is not the case. No section of the community should be favoured, and the wealthier the person the greater should be the burden carried. As far as the salaries and wages of civil servants are concerned, there should be heavy cuts made in the amounts paid to those who are receiving high salaries, before those who are earning a small wage, and who are finding it difficult to make ends meet, are touched. Many thousands of pounds could be saved by cutting down the salaries of the higher-paid civil servants to a fair figure, and by reducing their number. There would then be less need to make reductions in the quarters least able to bear them.