Statement By P.M. Termed ‘Frivolous’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31344, 14 April 1967, Page 14

Statement By P.M. Termed ‘Frivolous’

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 13. A statement by-the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) in which he said that his talks with the Federation of Labour today were “interesting, but hardly fruitful” was described as frivolous by the president of the F.O.L. (Mr T. E. Skinner) tonight.

; Mr Skinner said it was time that the Prime Minister realised the “picnic was over.” “The sooner he takes this crisis seriously, the better it will be for everyone concerned.

The six members of the F.O.L. deputation clearly understood the Prime Minister to say. that certain suggestions it put forward had some merit, and would be pursued by the Government. “His press statement will come as a shock to the deputation members who spent an hour and a half with him, his Minister of Finance, and the Attorney-General, seriously discussing the country’s economic plight,” said Mr Skinner. “One would have expected more than the frivolous state-

ment that the Prime Minister has now released. “It seems there is a difference between what has been said inside the Prime Minister’s office and what he has indicated to the public generally,” said Mr Skinner. Mr Skinner, back in Auckland, said tonight: “We are not going back to see the Prime Minister, as we have been invited to do, if what he says in his room is different from what he indicates to the public outside.” The dicussions were frank but friendly, said Mr Skinner.

Potato Crop Down.—The acreage of potatoes sown in Mid-Canterbury was well down this season, with only 900 acres entered for certification, said Mr J. D. Eaden, a farm advisory officer of the Department of Agriculture in Ashburton, yesterday.