Analysis ‘should be published’

Press, 1 May 1980, Page 28

Analysis ‘should be published’

An independent analysis of public submissions on the Johnson Report should have been published, the Family Planning Association’s Christchurch branch believes.

The Johnson Report is a study of the teaching in schools of human development and behaviour that was released in 1977, Public Comment was invited by the Government, and submissions made to the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington). These submissions were sent for analysis to Link Consultants. < The firm’s findings had been before the Minister since the beginning of the year, said the Family Planning Association. He had not made them public, however. “Instead, the public have been treated to. the Minister’s personal opinion on the likely outcome of

implementing some of the Johnson Committee’s recommendations, together with piecemeal reports of some of the figures provided by the Link analysis,” it said. The reports seemed to indicate the Government had made decisions that did not accord with the majority of views expressed in the public submissions. This was particularly so in.. relation to' introducing “humandevelopment and relationship courses” in schools. The association .regretted the Government’s decision not to support the introduction of sex education.

It believed the public had the right to see the full report and Link Consultant analysis so as to judge for itself the nature of the opposition and the support for these proposals.