No Agreement On Place To Play Mr Shand’s Tape

Press, Volume C, Issue 29599, 23 August 1961, Page 16

No Agreement On Place To Play Mr Shand’s Tape

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 22. The Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nash) cannot agree where to play a tape recording of Mr Shand's speech to the Institute of Management in Auckland last week. Mr Shand says Mr Nash is welcome to hear the recording in the Minister’s office. But Mr Nash insists he should be allowed to borrow the tape to play it on his own machine in his own office.

In a statement today. Mr Shand said: "I mentioned in the House that 1 was quoting certain words from a recording of my speech and the Leader of the Opposition asked if he might hear that recording “I replied immediately that he could, at the same time warning him that it was a poor recording and much of it was indecipherable.

“I invited him to come to my room at any time convenient to him in order to hear it. I had intended to return the tape to its owners yesterday, but have held it back a further day to suit the convenience of the Leader of the Opposition. “I have a recording machine and an operator from the National Publicity Studios available. “I think the Leader of the Opposition is quite unreasonable tn demanding that I hand over the tape to him to do as he likes with it

“Only by listening with the assistance of my notes has my typist been able to decipher certain passages and eheck that. I did follow my notes closely.” Mr Nash said today: “I don’t want to hear the recording for my own sake. I want to hear it for the Minister's sake. And I am quite prepared to say publicly what the Minister did sav in his speech when I have heard it But I don’t think it is fair to insist that I should hear the recording in the Minister's office."