31.
75
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MR. BARTON.
Chairman: Mr. Barton, you will appreciate that what we are
investigating is whether or not there was instituted an effective
and adequate financial system in the Immigration Department. We
Don't want necessarily anything involved or comprehensive as long
as it is an adequate system for the purpose of the work which the
department had to undertake. Can you tell us what conclusion you
came to from your own visit to the Department which was the first
made by the financial advisers to the Government?
I was asked by Mr. Pudney to visit the office after several
complaints had been received, and when I reached the office I
decided in my own mind that it would be impracticable for me to
carry out a very careful investigation; the report which is before
you is a casual first impression report that I got of what I saw.
I felt that if I were to go into the thing thoroughly it would
mean holding up the officers in a hard pressed department, with
crowds outside, so I decided I would report my impressions as far
as I could.
Have you had an opportunity since then of checking these
impressions?
Not personally by going over the department but from reports from
secured officers who have reported to me.
Were these secured officers employed in the Immigration Department?
They were shroffs supplied by me.
And they have reported to you that conditions made it very
difficult?
They did not report in an official way, but they remarked that
things were rather confused, and complained they did not exactly
know how to carry on.
Your own first impression was that there was in fact no accounting
system, is that putting it too high?
I said in the opening paragraph of my report there was no
accounting officer attached to the department, with the result that
the matter was in the hands of very junior officers.