Dr. Pownall Deplores “State Interference”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29931, 19 September 1962, Page 17

Dr. Pownall Deplores “State Interference”

The New Zealand university would be looked down upon oversees, would start a gradual, inexorable descent, would lose the respect of the community, and might have to resort to circumventing the law if political pressure was brought to bear by the

interference of the state', said Dr. L. L. Pownall, vice-chan-cellor of the University of Canterbury, last evening. Tn a speech deploring the proposed public bodies’ meetings bill. Dr. Pownall told about 70 members of the Rangiora Parent Teacher / ssociation that the university was unique in meetings of its governing body and could not be open to the public like those of any other local body financed by taxpayers. “We in the university are in some trepidation about what Parliament is going to do in this innocuous sounding bill,” he said. “I spoke to a church group recently on this subject and afterwards the town clerk stood

up end assure me I had no need to worry because some local authorities had put up with • those conditions for years and continued to thrive. I realised then that I had got none of my points over to the audience. “The Public Bodies’ Meetings Bill requires governing bodies of universities in New Zealand among other local bodies to open their meeting to any member of the community who cares to come; professors, students, school pupils from Rangiora, m fact anyone who wishes to ba entertained by people who have far more to do than run a university for which they receive no payment whatever.

“Our meetings will be open to the public on the grounds that it contributes the money to support the university. It is a plausible argument. If they provide the money surely they have a right to listen to the decisions made. ,

“There are dangers in it. Very insidious ones indeed. Not only the council will be open but wihen it goes into committee it will also be open, except when it is not in the public interest or when it is derogatory to a person to be open. “Copies of the agenda sheet, the minutes and the documents tabled will be available to anyone. That is all right for an ordinary local authority,” he said. “We attempt to attract top scholars to New Zealand for the salaries we offer. If we tend to be looked down upon overseas it will start a gradual inexorable descent. “The bill can be taken as a measure that the public are not aware of the luxury they have. They can see no difference between handling a university in this way and any. other local body financed by public money. “We cannot strike a rate, we are not popularly elected. The world will say: ‘lf this is the attitude of the public in New Zealand then we want nothing of it.’ This is not an extreme view. /It is incomprehensible to do this to a university.

■'During the Nazi period in Germany university council meetings were opened up by the state. It is a bureaucratic action.

“It will be a tragic thing if we lose respect and stall and start a down-hill slide,” said Dr. Powhall.

“The two metropolitan newspapers and ‘Canta’ sit in on the meetings of the Canterbury University Council but they are there by invitation, not by right.”