“Basinful Of Bombs” Omission In Report

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31230, 30 November 1966, Page 1

“Basinful Of Bombs” Omission In Report

“The ‘New Zealand Herald’ is satisfied that when the retiring Minister of Defence, Mr Eyre, made the comment, at an election meeting in Devonport on November 23, ‘I would like to give North Vietnam a basinful of bombs tomorrow,’ he added, ‘on military targets’,” the Press Association reported from Auckland.

“The remarks, T would like to give North Vietnam a basinful of bombs tomorrow,’ was initially made during a period of noisy interjection. “A member of the audience had called out, ‘What about the children?’

“Mr Eyre replied, ‘Children died in London from bombs, too,’ and he added, T would like to give North Vietnam a basinful of bombs tomorrow —on every military target.’ “Probably because of the uproar and the placing of the I amplifying microphone, the remark was apparently not heard throughout the hall. “It was not heard by the ‘Herald’ reporter who attended the meeting or by a number of others who have since written to the ‘Herald’ on the matter.

“The chairman of the meeting, Mr J. H. Seelye, Mayor of Devonport, said today that the reference to military targets was plainly made several times by Mr Eyre. “Sfreral other members of

the public attending the meeting have confirmed the use of the qualification. “It is also accepted that In stating ‘Orientals are different from us,’ Mr Eyre was dealing with differences in philosophical outlook. “Hig point was that some Asian people did not understand democratic differences of opinion as expressed in New Zealand, and were likely to regard them as evidence of weakness. We must start to understand their outlook and philosophy.

“The ‘Herald’ regrets that in the circumstances its report was incomplete and, therefore, was misleading. It offers its apologies to Mr Eyre,” the message said. The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said in Wellington today: “It is merely a case of a Minister being misreported in one newspaper and this report being given an unfortunate and quite unjustified airing both in New Zealand and overseas.

“In view of this single example of misreporting, and as Mr Eyre has issued a full explanation of what he actually said, and how he came to be misreported, there is no need for me to comment further.”