Minister bans meetings

Press, 25 February 1980, Page 10

Minister bans meetings

PA Wellington The New Zealand University Students’ Association said on Friday evening that the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) was trying to ban communication between the association and the Education Department.. The association’s president, (Mr S. Wilson) said Mr Wellington’s office had said the ban applied to meetings, correspondence, and probably any form of communication.

“The ban is in apparent response to the students’ leak'of Cabinet papers last week, which reveal plans to run down the funding for universities over the next five years,” Mr Wilson said. “This is yet another example of the Minister’s inability to deal in a rational and mature way with his portfolio.” He said the Director-Gen-eral of Education (Mr W. L. Renwick) had told the association that the department was prepared to meet over administration, but not policy, matters. • “This is clearly contrary to the original position, because it is essentially the normal way in which we would expect to function, ’ Mr Wilson said.’ “The Minister’s rash attempt to put his department in an untenable position seems to be backfiring very badly.”