Fitzgeralds highly regarded — witness

Press, 25 September 1980, Page 2

Fitzgeralds highly regarded — witness

PA Wellington A witness told the Marginal Lands Board inquiry yesterday that he had not included information about Mr and Mrs J. M. Fitzgerald’s farming background in his initial report on their application for a loan because he had not felt it was as important as other details, Mr M. Heffernan, a senior field officer in the Department of Lands and Survey, was being crossexamined by Mr M.. R. Camp, counsel for the Minister of Lands (Mr V. S. Young). Mr Heffernan said that when he had compiled his initial report oh the couple’s application he had tried to present a balanced view of the Fitzgeralds’ farming experience and ability by setting . out their strengths and weaknesses. He felt that the fact they were highly regarded in planning and investment circles and had the ability to order their priorities correctly and the fact that Mr Fitzgerald was a qualified motor mechanic were more important than his association with a stock and station agency. But that was only his assessment and this

basic report was not the one on which a; decision was : made. A report by. a Margin-1 al Lands coinmittee would also be required. Earlier, in his evidence-in-chief, Mr Heffernan had said that when the board’s sub-com-mittee had met the Fitz- ’ geralds on May 8 and 9 he had been present. He disagreed with the budgets pre- • pared from those meetings, saying that they overstated i the couple’s farming ability. His more conservative ’ parameters were most realistic. He hoped he was not ■ being “bloody minded” but he felt that his figure was 1 reasonable’ on his honest ’ judgment of the case. On June 12 or 13 he had been asked to investigate the adequacy of the Rural Bank’s increased one-year' development offer and his i opinion was that the offer ■ was unrealistic. The Fitz- 1 geralds could not reasonably have been expected to' accept it and it was to their ’ credit they had not. The Rural Bank had taken the easy way out in offering an 1 unacceptable loan. He had . not given the Fitzgeralds a ! copy of the departmental , budget when he had seen i

them at Mr Maclntyre’s Ministerial home in Parliament Street, as stated earlier, but at a meeting with them on March 28. To Mr J. O. Upton, counsel assisting the Commission of Inquiry, Mr Heffernan said he knew of no other case in which the Ministry of Agriculture had prepared independent budgets for the Fitzgeralds’ type of fanning application before the board. He had the impression that the two officers of the Ministry had felt embarrassed at perhaps upsetting his feelings by producing these budgets. He agreed that it was his opinion that his department was quite capable of doing the budgets itself. The commission’s chairman, Dr B. D. Inglis, Q.C., indicated during the hearing yesterday, which Mrs Audrey Fitzgerald attended as an observer for the first time, that some evidence by Mr Heffernan would be heard in secret. This is in line with his ruling last week that any material which might be prejudicial to Mr Fitzgerald’s chances of a fair trial in the High court would be heard behind closed doors.