Journalists to bar Muldoon sessions after new blow in war with paper

Press, 17 April 1980, Page 1

Journalists to bar Muldoon sessions after new blow in war with paper

PA Wellington The Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, said last evening that his decision to exclude reporters from the “Dominion” newspaper from his news conferences was the only way he knew of to retaliate against its editor for cutting bits out of his written statements. ?

In response to his ban, the New Zealand Journalists’ Union national executive has told its members riot to report any such conferences from which an accredited Press Gallery representative is excluded.

The four-man executive also decided that no mem-< ber should sub-edit, proofread, or otherwise handle any material from any such conference.

In contrast, the president of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association (Mr N< P. Webber) said he did not want to comment on the matter. "I do not know the circumstances of the issue, ’ and traditionally the'N.P.A, does not step into editorial matters. I feel it is between Mr Muldoon and the editor and, as yet it is not my aft . fair,” he said. k The Association of Broad- I casting Journalists executive viill meet todayto consider .’its attitude to the ban.

Mr Muldoon said he would lift the ban if the “Dominion”- published extracts from a statement he accused the editor of censoring.

Mr Muldoon’s action continued a running feud in recent weeks between the Prime Minister and the paper’s editor, Mr E. G. A. Frost, and its chief political correspondent, Richard Long. This has centred on a series of articles by Long on the debate over the Petrocorp and BP methanol schemes.

Mr Muldoon said his action was also in response to a recent“ Dominion” editorial about the Minister of Transport (Mr McLachland). This drew sharp criticism from the Prime Minister.

The “Dominion” on Tuesday published a statement by Mr Muldoon in which he commented on points made in an earlier article by Long: The following note appeared at the end of the report: “The editor of the ‘Dominion’ has deleted two paragraphs from the Prime Minister’s statement which constitute further personal attacks on the ‘Dominion’ political reporter and himself.”

Mr Muldoon hit back yesterday by excluding '“Dominion’’ reporters until the editor published the parts left out.

*‘The editor of the ‘Dominion’ has taken it upon himself to censor a statement that I made in answer' to misleading material that he has been publishing recently, and excise from it comments critical .of his editorial policies and the material provided by his Parliamentary correspondents,” he said.

'‘This action is contrary to the principles of decent journalism in a modern democracy. “At the same time he is continuing his campaign of publishing day-by-day the derogatory letters of the anti-Muldoon pack.” In an editorial this morning, the “Dominion” says, the two paragraphs were omitted because they were irrelevant and might be defamatory. The “Dominion” says it is not prepared to publish the two paragraphs “while the newspaper is under duress from the Prime Minister’s ‘retaliation’.” The two paragraphs have now been published elsewhere, the paper says. Upon the Prime Minister’s withdrawing his action of “retaliation” and admitting

representatives of the “Dominion” to his news conference, the newspaper will'publish the two paragraphs and will maintain its right to comment on them.

It says that by his allegation of censorship, Mr Muldoon has escalated the matters in discussion with the “Dominion” from a debate as to who is right or wrong on the health of Mr McLachlan arid who is right or wrong on the methanol-plant decision, to an issue involving fundamental freedoms.

He is an elected public official who, by his action, is denying access by a newspaper and its readers to information which should be available to the public, it says. Mr Muldoon’s statement was immediately “regretted and strongly deplored” by the chairman of the Parliamentary Press Gallery (Mr Tony Garnier). “I would strongly urge that he reconsider his proposed course of action in the interests of preserving the traditional right of Press Gallery journalists to attend Prime Ministerial news conferences,” Mr Garnier said.

He and the Gallery vicechairman (Mr Alistair Carthew) later discussed the proposed ban with Mr Muldoon after a meeting of the Gallery. Mr Muldoon would normally have held a news conference yesterday after the Government caucus meeting. But he was in Wanganui. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Talboys),. who sits in for Mr Muldoon when he is away, declined to hold a news conference because, he said, there Was nothing discussed at the caucus meeting he wanted to talk about publicly.

Staff of the Prime Minister’s press office denied that the decision of Mr Talboys had anything to do with Mr Muldoon’s ban. Mr Muldoon said: “Newspapers, I believe as a cardinal principle, accept statements from politicians in rebuttal of what they print, including criticism of the newspapers themselves. Now that’s the principle the - ‘Dominion’ broke.”

Mr Muldoon was asked why newspapers should not be able to treat statements from politicians as they saw fit. .

. “Not in that sense,” he replied. “You see, what the editor of the ‘Dominion’ said was that he had cut out two paragraphs of a statement I made because they.constituted a personal attack.

“I would argue on the score of whether or hot they constituted a personal attack, ‘but quite apart from that, he took the view that he had ’ the right to cut those paragraphs out because they were critical of the ‘Dominion’ and some of its material. “Now I don’t believe the principle permits him to do that simply because something is critical.” The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) said Mr Muldoon should “stop being such a fool and stop making a mockery” of his office.

It was time for the National Party to take a hard look at the strains the Prime Minister seemed to be under,.he said.' '

Mr Muldoon’s “obsession with a childish personal vendetta” was crippling the Government at a critical time in the country’s economic development.