Information On Kaimai ‘Stifled’

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32379, 19 August 1970, Page 28

Information On Kaimai ‘Stifled’

(New Zealand Preet Association) WELLINGTON, August 18. It was inexcusable that the Government was attempting to stifle information about the Kaimai tunnel disaster, a Labour spokesman (Mr R. L. Bailey) said today.

He was commenting on the Government’s decision, announced yesterday by the Acting Minister of Works (Mr Pickering), to seek two experienced tunnellers from overseas. Mr Bailey, member for Heretaunga, said in a statement that this'decision must have been made on the basis of new information about the Kaimai work that had not been made available to the public. “Only the other day the Government was saying that hasty judgments should be avoided. Now it is trying to tell us that it has all the answers. “The criticism made by the Commission of Inquiry in its report on the Kaimai disaster

are too serious to be passed over lightly. “Serious questions still exist Why, for example, were these appointments not made at the start of the job?” Mr Bailey asked what guarantees the Acting Minister had that this belated action on the part of the Government would correct a situation that was seriously out of control The statement, he said, ignored the fundamental problem that experienced engineers continued to resign from the M.O.W. because of the Government’s shortsightedness. Under these conditions the Ministry found it increasingly difficult to retain and develop the resources it must have, Mr Bailey said.