‘Minister discussed loan application’

Press, 22 October 1980, Page 3

‘Minister discussed loan application’

PA ' ?? Wellington A former private secretary to the Minister of Lands has reiterated, that, the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Maclntyre) had twice - discussed with him the Fitzgerald application for a Marginal Lands Board loan. Mr Rob Wynn was brought from Invercargill to give his evidence a second time before the Commission of Inquiry into’the Marginal Lands Board loan row and assertions of impropriety by Mr Maclntyre and the Minister of Lands (Mr V. S. Young). The previous attempt byMr Wynn, '- the former pri-’ vate secretary to Mr Young, was stymied because Mr Maclntyre . did not have counsel at the commission’s hearing. . .' *

Mr Wynn yesterday told the commission that on March 21, while Mr .Maclntyre was Acting Minister of Lands, he had been called to the Minister’s office specifically to discuss the attempts by Mr Maclntyre’s daughter, Mrs Audrey Fitzgerald. and her husband, Mr Jim Fitzgerald, to raise a loan from the board.

Mr Wynn said that Mr Maclntyre had said a complaint had been received that board field officers had refused to discuss seasonal budgets with the Fitzgeralds and that these were a critical factor of the loan application. Mr Maclntyre had also said that the farming representative on the board had asked only one question during a board committee inspection of the 106-hectare property and that the committee had shown a lack of interest in the property, Mr Wynn said. Mr Maclntyre had said he did not want to get involved but if he received a complaint that appeared justified, he had to act on it, Mr Wynn said. He said Mr Maclntyre was concerned that the Fitzgeralds were being disadvantaged because .they were his son-in-law and daughter.

Mr Maclntyre had said he was satisfied that the Fitzgeralds had - ; the ability to farm the undeveloped, property if given the chance. As a result of the' discussion, Mr Wynn said', he had approached "the Marginal Lands Board’s director, Mr T. D. Mackenzie, and had told him of the complaint.

Mr Maclntyre had also mentioned the loan application to Mr Wynn during the evening of Waitangi Day when the Minister was the Government’s representative; at festivities at Waitangi, the commission was told. Mr Maclntyre has told the commission that he could not'recall mentioning or discussing the application, nor the Fitzgeralds, with Mr Wynn. ■ . ■ Mr Wynn also told the commission' that Mr Young arid he had discussed the Fitzgerald application before Christmas of last year and that he' had believed the Fitzgeralds had reasonable cause to seek a review of their previously axed application!’" . ' '? ■ . ■

Mr Young had said he felt the Fitzgeralds would adequately farm the property, Mr Wynn said. Acting on this, witness drafted a letter that was later signed unaltered by Mr Young which, ended with the Minister’s asking that the Fitzgerald' application be reconsidered because he (the Minister) was confident that The applicants had the ability successfully to farm the property. The' letter was dated January 25. Counsel for Mr Maclntyre, Mr J. T. Eichelbaum, challenged the belief that the Fitzgerald application had been the only subject discussed on March 21. He argued that Mr Maclntyre had only just taken over as Acting Minister of Lands and that he would have been seeking advice before the cacucs meeting on the next Monday. Mr Wynn said that only the “complaint” was discussed. Mr Wynn said that he felt there could be prejudice in the board offices against the

Fitzgeralds because they, were related to. a -Minister. In June, the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon), had declared there would be an inquiry into the application as a result of the resignation ,of a board member, Mr Roly White. After this, Mr Wynn, said, he had committed to paper all that , the two Min-

• isters had-said to him on the subject-.:. ■//'/ I The Director General of Lands (Mr .N. S. Coad), also a ‘ witness before the comsion, had done the same, the commission was told. Mr Wynn has been- crossexamined and re-examined more than any other witness before the commission, which has been hearing evidence for' the last six weeks. The chairman said at the conclusion of Mr Wynn’s evidence that credibility was a major point in the! affair and he noted that Mr Wynn’s evi-: dence had been very consistent with the evidence he had given earlier. The commission was also told why the Rural Bank had declined the Fitzgerald’s applications for substantial loan,

The bank’s general manager, Edward James Babe, said the Fitzgerald’s '■ had applied to the bank for a $243,000 loan to develop their Long Gully property. The bank had declined the application because it involved development too vast and comprehensive for the land to support and because it was felt the project was beyond the capabilities of the owners. Instead, the bank offered a pilot loan of $lO,BOO as a test to see .what the Fitzgeralds could achieve, Mr Babe said. More finance could have been made available if the first stages of development had been successfully achieved. The pilot loan was not taken up and the bank believed the couple had allowed the application to lapse. But on April 8 of this year, Mrs Fitzgerald had repoened discussions with the bank for another loan application. The bank had later offered a loan of $75,000 but again this was not taken up by the Fitzgeralds.