NO DOMINION ACTION

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 71, 4 January 1935, Page 3

NO DOMINION ACTION

THE GRIFFIN CASE. IMPRISONMENT IN AUSTRALIA. (Special to the " Guardian.") WELLINGTON, January 2. The New Zealand Government has decided not to intervene in the case of Gerald Griffin, whose visit to Australia concerning the anti-war movement recently caused much notoriety, ending with six months' imprisonment for entering the Commonwealth contrary to its immigration laws. Following on the sentence imposed on him, sev oral New Zealand bodies representing the No More War Movement and also the Free Speech Movement forwarded ■resolutions to the Government asking for intervention on behalf of Mr Griffin. These have been considered by Cabinet, and a reply sent to his representative sympathisers informing them that no action will be taken.

The reply was as follows: "As Mr Griffin has chosen to act deliberateiy in defiance of the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, he should be prepared to abide by the consequences, and the Government does not consider his case one in which it should make representations to the Commonwealth Government.''

Gerald Griffin went to Sydney en route to the Anti-War Congress in Melbourne as the representative of the New Zealand -No, More War Movement and was returned to New Zealand by the Commonwealth immigration authorities. He later entered Australia, presumably under an assumed name, and Avas tried and sentenced as an, undesirable immigrant. He appealed against the sentence and members of the movement in New Zealand approached the Government w. the hopes of securing intervention before the appeal was heard.