Government Priorities Queried By Scientists

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31975, 30 April 1969, Page 14

Government Priorities Queried By Scientists

The announcement on radio direction-finding facilities for coastal stations, made by the Postmaster-General (Mr Scott), was extraordinary and inexplicable when the Government was considering the Omega navigation system, three scientists at the University of Canterbury said in a statement last evening. The men, Dr D. R. Hutton and Messrs G. L. Austin and P A. G. Howell, are ali with ! the university’s physics deIpartment. i “We should like to draw Ho the public attention the extraordinary and inexplicable i attitude of the New Zealand 1 Government, whose Post-

master-General has just casually announced that ‘it has not been possible to devise a scheme at reasonable cost’ to provide directionfinding facilities at coastal stations, and mentions a cost of ‘many hundreds of thousands of dollars,’ although the lives and safety of its own people and vessels are involved,” the statement said. “Yet this same Government is prepared to consider finding s4m to s6m in hard currency, plus whatever hidden costs are Involved, and ito provide for an annua! maintenance expenditure estimated at $350,000 for Omega system equipment—which, as we have shown, is of negligible assistance to local users —to meet a whim of the United States Government. “In whose interests is the Government of New Zealand acting, those of the people of New Zealand who have to foot the bill or those of the people of the United States? “Surplus aircraft automatic radio direction-finders and automatic compasses such as the MN-26, SCR-269, AN-ARN--7 and AD7029, could be quite readily and inexpensively modified and installed at Government and private coastal radio stations to carry out the required operations,” the statement said.