Time for change, says ‘Dominion’

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 1

Time for change, says ‘Dominion’

PA Wellington Under the headline “Time for a Change,” Web lington’s “Dominion” newspaper said in an editorial yesterday that the. pressures of political life are extreme and that the personal lives of a number of members of Parliament have been left in tatters because of' the demands placed upon them. The routine of Government had too frequently jeen set back by Cabinet Ministers beset by health problems, frequently serious.

“The latest to suffer, the Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan), has been hospitalised yet again, forcing a further absence from his Beehive duties at a time when he, and his Government, can least afford to have his post lie in a vacant or semi-vacant situation,” the editorial said. “Stress, on Mr McLach-

lan has been considerable. His portfolio has been the centre of controversy, some of it inevitable. In several key issues, however, the situation has been aggravated by : his own handling of the situations; there have been frequent claims of ineptitude and his fitness to continue administering the portfolio has often been questioned.” The “Dominion” said Mr McLachlan’s absences from Wellington when areas under his control had been under pressure were legend — the most recent, when a commuter train crashed, being too reminiscent of past occasions. “It now seems-that illhealth was the cause of the Minister’s reluctance to return to Parliament at a time when his presence was sorelv needed,” it said. The editorial said past occasions to cause concern were the fatal ■ Fokker

Friendship crash at Mangere when Mr McLachlan “was far from convincing when safety standards came under fire”; his expression of complete surprise at the Air New Zealand pilpts strike after “unsatisfactory. negotiations had staggered on for 15 months”; and the recent revelation that a vital report on proposed extensions to the Wellington Airport’s runway had been with the Minister for three months without anything having been taken to Cabinet. “Then there was the episode involving legislation on breathalysers which rushed into law a situation that could not be policed,” the editorial said. “From the Minister came the lame excuse that one did not always get things right the first time. Nor could Mr McLachlan expect any kudos as the man who engineered the merging of the country’s two airlines. Tn public and staff relations it. reeked of ineptitude.” The editorial fended: “Through ■Jt all the Prime Minister • has been steadfastly supportive of a colleague he once singled out as a Minister right on top of his departments and portfolio. That -.loyalty is admirable; whether it is in the best interests of the country’s vital transport needs to continue it. or in the interests of a Minister who has done his best but has clearly naid a heaw personal toll for it, is another matter.”