G
public in the implementation process. hiss Dunn has made the point that any advisory committee is only as good as the people who serve on it and especially the official who chairs it. I agree with her even if it means having to change the ways of dogmatic chairmen both officials and unofficials. Miss Dunn goes on to comment that some hide-bound official chairmen are suspected of being unwilling to recommend for appointment to their committees anyone who is known to be a critic. I agree once more that, if true, this kind of attitude would undermine the effectiveness of the system. The best committees and these are what we aim to cultivate are those where informed, constructive comment and criticism flourish. One might say that such criticism provides the fertiliser which aids the production of a healthy plant And here may I, Sir, remark that Kiss Bunn's comment on the dogmatic committee chairman, sensitive to criticism, clearly does not apply to all chairmen of all committees, or indeed all councils: else most, if not all, unofficial members of this Council would not be here this afternoon.
11.
Miss Dunn also pleads for greater understanding: she says that it would be wrong to dismiss all complaints as trivia and rightly states that it is vital that officials at all levels be willing to talk, willing to listen and just occasionally be willing to admit that they too cản make mistakes. Of course she is absolutely right. But how unfortunate it is that Miss Dunn, in her speech, appears to have done herself less than justice when she seems prepared to dismiss as 'relatively trivial' matters such as traffic jams and the future of the Supreme Court building. What some Government servants (and apparently some unofficial members too) consider trivial can be, and very often is, very important indeed to those making the representation or the complaint.
If somebody thinks a matter sufficiently important to warrant bringing it to the attention of an fficial or unofficial, then that somebody (to use Miss Dunn's plea)
an
/should