•
five private citizens who make up the Commission can never do.
Experience olsewhere has shown that the principle of an indep-
endent Public Service Comm:ssion may not survive for long after
independence; and it is not difficult to see why. But so long
as Britain retains overall responsibility for public affairs in
this country we must maintain that principle: without it the
public service and the Commission cannot be insulated from party
political influence. Removal of the Governor's power could, I
+
fear, lead to friction between Commission and government and
consequent pressure to bring the public service more directly
under Ministerial control.
9. Under the Letters Patent of 1963 the Governor retained
responsibility for the terms and conditions of service of public
officers. During the following 8 years my enlightened pre-
decessors saw the need to develop more up-to-date arrangements
to control relations between the civil service and the government.
A joint staff relations council was set up on a British model to
provide for regular consultation between management and staff
sides.
Since the financial implications of any recommendations
by that council would involve the budgetary responsibilities of
Ministers, it was agreed that the constitution of the council
should provide for its conclusions to be reported not to the
Governor as the letter of the Constitution would appear to require
but to the Minister of Home Affairs. The recent tripartite
Commonwealth Commission to review the public service including
its pay and conditions submitted its report to the Premier and
it has been the cabinet which has pronounced upon its recom-
mendations in a government White Paper, and is negotiating these
proposals with the civil service. It would be hard to think of
clearer evidence that Ministers in practice now exercise a
6.
CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL
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