Privileges Committee to ‘press on’

Press, 23 October 1980, Page 3

Privileges Committee to ‘press on’

PA Wellington Parliament’s Privileges Committee sat for the third time yesterday to consider further a complaint that the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Maclntyre) misled the House over the Fitzgerald land loan affair.

The committee sat at 9 a.m. and proceedings were still under way at noon. However, no decision was made by the committee yesterday. The Cleric of the House (Mr C. P. Littlejohn) said after the meeting that the committee would sit again tomorrow. “We want to press on,” he said. The committee’s chairman, the Attorney-General (Mr McLay) said after the first sitting earlier this month that a decision would be deferred until the Commission, of In-

qiry into the land loan affair had heard all the evidence. The commission is still sitting and is not due to report back until November 14, although it can be expected to complete hearing evidence some time before that. The matter was referred to the Privileges Committee by Parliament last month, after a complaint to the Speaker by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling), who alleged that Mr Maclntyre had deliberately misled the House in saying in June that he had divorced himself from the Marginal Lands Board application involving his daughter, Mrs Audrey Fitzgerald, and son-in-law, Mr James Fitzgerald. This statement, Mr Rowling asserted conflicted with evidence given to the Commission of Inquiry by the

.Director-General of Lands (Mr N. S. Coad). , Mr Coad’s evidence indicated that while Acting Minister of Lands, in March of this year, Mr Maclntyre had discussed details of the Fitzgerald application to the Marginal Lands Board with Mr Coad.

Mr Rowling later submitted a further complaint after the submission of more evidence at the inquiry. The Speaker again ruled that Mr Maclntyre may have deliberately misled the House. The Privileges Committee, consisting of three Ministers on the Government side, the Labour leader (Mr Rowling) and his deputy (Mr Lange), will investigate both complaints. Present at yesterday’s meeting were Mr Maclntyre and Mr Coad. The committee rose soon after midday.