‘BUGGING’ STORY

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32873, 23 March 1972, Page 13

‘BUGGING’ STORY

Denials in Canberra

(N .Z .P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

CANBERRA, March 22. The Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Nigel Bowen) denied last night that when he was Attomey- , General in 1969 he authorised the “bugging” of hotel rooms used by the Malaysian delegation to the five-power South-East Asian defence conference in Canberra. Mr Bowen was making a statement in the House of Representatives after an allegation by the Labour Opposition’s spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr William Morrison, that a microphone was found in an air-condi-tioner in a hotel room during the 1969 conference. Mr Bowen said that neither had Mr John Gorton, the Prime Minister at that time, ordered any bugging. The Minister added that he had made inquiries at the Malaysian High Commission ’ in Canberra, and had been told that the report started ! as a joke, and that the Mal- ' aysians could not understand ■ why the joke had remained I in circulation.

The Counsellor of the Malaysian High Commission (Mr Walter Ayathury) said last night that there had never been any suspicion that the Malaysians’ rooms at the hotel had been "bugged”. He had unintentionally given rise to the “bugging” story in what he thought was a joke he had had with one of the Australians present at the conference.