Pupils Demonstrate Outside Conference

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32360, 28 July 1970, Page 1

Pupils Demonstrate Outside Conference

(New Zealand Press Association)

ROTORUA, July 27. Secondary school pupils holding placards watched while teachers sought a meeting with the Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) at the National Party conference in Rotorua today.

The demonstration outside the conference was held after two protest meetings in Rotorua by secondary and primary school teachers. Both meetings were called as the result of remarks made by Mr Taiboys in a “Gallery” television programme last week. At a stopwork meeting about 80 secondary teachers from throughout the Bay of Plenty urged the Government to call the proposed educa tional priorities planning eon ference. The other meeting, called by the Botorua branch of the Educational Institute, was held during the lunch-hour in the Rotorua Concert Chamber, and was attended by about 400 teachers, including the 80 who had attended the earlier meeting. PUPILS OUTSIDE About 50 pupils from the Rotorua Boys’ High School were outside the chamber They carried placards supporting demands for “More pay, more teachers.” Mr E. F. Hamill, national president of the Post-Primary Teachers' Association is principal of this school, but is on leave of absence. Once the meeting started the boys seemed at a loss what to do, and, apparently at the suggestion of a teacher, they marched to the Sports drome, where the National Party was meeting. A number of teachers followed them 10 minutes later, when the brief meeting in the concert chamber ended. While the demonstrators waited for the conference to end a standing ovation was given to Mr Taiboys by party delegates inside. Mr Taiboys told the conference: “I have one interest —promoting the well-being of children in this country.” ' The applause for Mr Taiboys was led by the Prime Minister (Sir Keith Holyoake), who informed conference of the demonstration outside. “FEEL HALF-NAKED” “1 can hardly move without a demonstration,” he said. “1 feel half-naked without a demonstration to speed me on my way.” After the conference, Mi Taiboys went out to meet the teachers. He said: “All 1 want to say is this—l know perfectly well the problems that exist I know, too, the problems, and the concern that is felt equally by women teachers. 1 believe the action they have taken will do infinitely more than the action you are taking.” Mr Taiboys’s reference to women teachers was interpreted as relating to a 22 to 14 vote against a stop-work meeting, made by teachers at Rotorua Girls’ High School yesterday. CHEERS CALLED While the Minister stood talking to the teachers, a Na-

tional Party delegate emerged from the conference and called for three cheers for Mi Taiboys. Conference delegates followed the cheers—partly drowned by boos from the demonstrators—by singing “For he’s a jolly good fellow.” A letter demanding a public apology for remarks made during his television interview was handed to Mr Taiboys. The M.P. for Manurewa (Mr

P- A. Amos), has called on Mr Taiboys for an immediate and unconditional retraction of his statement about teacher stop-work meetings being fomented for publicity purposes. In a telegram to the Minister, Mr Amos said he had made checks today which showed there was no basis for Mr Talboys’s allegations. Mr Amps said that the Minister had made a quite irresponsible statement