Controls still on Nash papers

Press, 16 September 1976, Page 6

Controls still on Nash papers

Parliamentary reporter

The publication or non-publication of parts of the biographv of the late Sir Walter Nash is entirely m the hands of Government departments, according to the Public Trustee in Wellington I Mr N. G. Kelly ).

This means that any Government department' has the potential right, to stop publication. How-' ever, the publishers are still adamant that the book will go ahead asi As trustee of the Nash j papers, used by Professor; Keith Sinclair in research fori the book, the Public Trust I had entered into an agreement with the author, said* Mr Kellv. "The agreement states that; any Government department' retains the right to peruse the i manuscript, and to direct the' non-publication of any speci-| fic material derived from I papers from that depart-, ment.”

It arose because of the (huge mass of papers kept by I Sir Walter, and later allowed Ito be taken by Professor Sin's clair for research purposes, i he said. . I Sir Walter is reputed toi • have had a passion for stor--1 ing documents, some of which filled the garage of his ; small house in Lower Hutt. | He was a non-driver, and did i not have a car of his own. It was reported this week ■ that the Security Intelligence I Service had asked that three ; passages in the proposed bio--1 graphy be deleted. The S.I.S. is believed to ihave said that Sir Walter :i should not have kept some I of the material he did, beI cause it belonged to the State. ■ jMr Kelly said he did not 'know how the S.LS. had be-

come involved. But under the terms of the agreement entered into by Professor Sinclair, any Government department had the right to order the non-publication of (specific parts of the manuscript that came from departmental papers. The Nash biography will go ahead without alteration, Mr R. D. McEldowney, managing editor of the Auckland University Press confirmed today.

The education committee of the university council had given the go-ahead on Monday. he said, rejecting the S.I.S. request that three passages be deleted. The university’s legal advisers are believed to have discounted the possibility of legal action.