‘Display of crass bad manners’

Press, 10 February 1982, Page 2

‘Display of crass bad manners’

Parliamentary reporter The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) criticised the lack of an apology from the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) to the Gisborne broadcaster. Mr W. D. Carson, as “a display of crass bad manners that' the average parent would not tolerate in a child.” Mr Carson was named in a Security Intelligence Service report, made public by Mr Muldoon, as suspected of obtaining an irritant chemical for use in protests against the Springbok tour. Mr Carson has now been cleared of the accusation and the S.I.S. found to have been in error.

Mr Rowling said yesterday that he was pleased the Director of the S.I.S. (Mr P. L. Molyneaux) accepted responsibility for “yet another mistake” bn the 'part of the service.

But he was disgusted that the Prime Minister refused to admit that the service was at fault, that his public accusations were at fault, and that a New Zealand citizen had been seriously wronged. “We have now had a string of incidents in which S.I.S. information, supposedly prepared on a confidential basis, has been released for purely political purposes," Mr Rowling said.

“On several occasions.that information has been shown to be inaccurate or plain wrong. If the .Prime Minister is going to persist in undercutting the integrity of the S I.S. in this manner, then he must at least accept some responsibility for their mistakes.

"We expect at least some semblance of maturity and common decency from political leaders. In this case, this young man is owed a direct and unequivocal apology. “He should get it,” said Mr Rowling.

The Commissioner of Security Appeals, Sir Thaddeus McCarthy, said that the S.I.S. was unjustified in reporting last year that Mr Carson was “believed to have obtained the irritant chloropicrin for use in protest activities.” the Press Association reported. Mr Muldoon made the report public. Mr Carson said on Monday that he wanted Mr Muldoon — the Minister in charge of the S.I.S. — to apologise. But Mr Muldoon's office had advised him that no apology would be forthcoming.

The chairman of the Council of Civil .Liberties (Mr George Rosenberg) condemned Sir Thaddeus McCarthy's failure to critic-

ise the S.I.S. “If Sir Thaddeus was to be of any use as a watchdog he should have made some strong recommendations to ensure that it does not happen again.” he said. Mr F. D. O'Flynn. Labour M.P. for Island Bay, said that innocent and reputable people should be safeguarded against the S.I.S. attracting information from “irresponsible and possibly even malicious informers." The suspicions over Mr Carson were found by the police to be groundless, but the S.I.S. passed it on to the Prime Minister as something they “believed.” The incident also showed the dangers of the Prime Minister releasing “this kind of potentially unreliable information for political purposes at the height 6f a public controversy," said Mr O’Flvnn.

The president of the Public Service Association (Mr David Thorp) said that on the first occasion that the procedure under the act allowed the public to judge the S.I.S. it found it was as dangerously incompetent as was feared, and confirmed the worst fears the P.S.A. had had when the 1977 S.I.S. Bill was passed.