MANAPOURI ISSUE

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32214, 5 February 1970, Page 9

MANAPOURI ISSUE

“Attempt To Delude” The statement by the Minister of Works (Mr Allen) that the second Labour Government was responsible for the threat to Lake Manapouri was “an admirable attempt to delude the New Zealand people that the National Government is powerless to prevent the flooding of the lake,” Mr I. J. Brooks, the Labour Party's candidate in the Marlborough by-elec-tion, said in a statement to “The Press”. "Unfortunately for Mr i Allen, the New Zealand public, on an issue such as this, are not as gullible as the Minister of Works assumes,” he said. “Agreements with Comalco were not completed until very recently and even then there was considerable doubt whether they would accept involvement. Long before the Comalco participation was definite, the National Government was happy enough with the project to commence construction.

“There was opportunity in 1963 and 1966, in agreements with Comalco, for the National Government to attempt to negotiate to prevent the drowning of the lake. The National Government has also seen fit to ignore the Nature Conservation Council’s advice —such is its lack of appreciation for conservation.

“Mr Alien’s attempt to pass the buck is in the best traditions of his party. To refer to a happening a decade ago is unlikely to allay the protests and criticisms of New Zealanders genuinely concerned with the depleting of their choicest countryside,” he said.