Minister quit because he broke secrecy rule

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 10

Minister quit because he broke secrecy rule

NZPA Canberra • The Australian former Special Minister of State, Mr Mick Young, had resigned after being confronted by the Government’s legal counsel with an allegation that a Minister had leaked Cabinet information about the Combe-Iva-nov affair, the Hope Royal Commission was told yesterday. Mr Michael McHugh, Q.C., for the Government, said that his junior counsel and instructing solicitor had met Mr Young on Thursday morning last week. During the meeting, which had been organised for another matter, the counsel had taken the opportunity to question Mr Young about the allegation. When the meeting ended Mr Young went to see the Prime Minister, Mr Bob Hawke, in his office.

“He told the Prime Minister that he felt it incumbent upon him to inform the Prime Minister that on the night of April 21, 1983, he had taken the opportunity to tell Mr E. J. Walsh that he ought to be careful in his dealings with a Mr Laurie Matheson, of Commercial Bureau Australia, Pty, Ltd, as there was a fairly messy scenario involving Mr Ivanov from the Soviet Embassy, Mr David Combe, and Mr Matheson which the Government had been looking at that day,” Mr McHugh said. “At the same time Mr Young tendered his resignation as Special Minister of State.”

The meeting between counsel and Mr Young had come after a conference the previous night between counsel and Mr Hawke.

“We informed him (Mr Hawke) that we had obtained information which made it appear that there

was to be an issue before the Hope Royal Commission (into Australia’s security services) as to whether on the night of April 20 or 21 a Minister had given information to a third party concerning the briefing which the National and International Security Committee had received from the, director-general of security,” he said.

“We told the Prime Minister that we believed that Mr Laurie Matheson, of Commercial Bureau, alleged that he had received information concerning the meeting from a third party. “Mr Matheson also claimed that the third party received the information on the night of the day on which the briefing of the N.I.S. committee had taken place.

“Other information received during the day indicated to us that the third party was Mr Eric Walsh. “We told the Prime Minister that we had no information as to who, if anyone, had spoken to Mr Walsh, but if Mr Matheson’s claim was correct then, on all the information, it

seemed probable that it was a Minister. “The Prime Minister instructed us that if that was the case we were not to take any step which would prevent this fact emerging and indeed we were instructed to take every available step to assist the Commission to establish the true facts,” he said. Mr McHugh then referred to a statement purporting to be from Mr Walsh which has appeared in several newspapers. The statement had said that Mr Walsh had received information concerning the N.I.S. committee meeting in confidence from Mr Young and that he had passed that information to Mr Matheson.

“It is apparent therefore that Mr Young, Mr Walsh and Mr Matheson are able to give vital evidence relevant to the terms of reference to this commission,” Mr McHugh said.. Mr Young’s resignation was one of the continuing matters to be dealt with by the Commission.

“In accepting Mr Young’s resignation, the Prime Minister had in mind among other things the principle of Cabinet confidentiality, the disclosure of Cabinet information by a Minister not having responsibility for action in relation to that information and the fact that the Prime Minister did not learn of the disclosure until July 14.” Support for Mr Young is growing in the Labour Party.

The Territories and Local Government Minister, Mr Tom Uren, said on Sunday that Mr Young should nominate for the vacancy created by his resignation from the Federal Ministry, and he said that he expected Mr Young would win the ballot.

A former Labour Minister, Mr Clyde Cameron, also backed Mr Young during the week-end, as did the South Australian branch of the party. Mr Uren said that he recognised the seriousness of Mr Young’s revealing information about the Combe-Ivanov affair. “But I’d not consider the mistake serious enough to disqualify Mick Young from serving in a Labour Government. Similar views would be expressed by many of his colleagues.” Mr Cameron successfully, moved a resolution at an Adelaide Labour Party meeting supporting Mr Young and calling on Mr Hawke to defer replacing Mr Young so that he “may once again take his rightful place in Cabinet.” The Federal Opposition yesterday called on the Government to recall Parliament to answer questions about Mr Young’s resignation. The Opposition Leader, Mr Andrew Peacock, and the shadow Treasurer, John Howard, said that the statement yesterday to the Hope Royal Commission did not answer the grave charges against the Government.

Mr Peacock said that the charges against the Government included breaches of national security, the leaking of information which could have led to commercial gain, the misleading of Parliament, and the coverup of facts. “We now know Mr Young misled Parliament,” Mr Peacock said.

“The Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, by not sufficiently probing and questioning Mr Young, also misled the Parliament.

“Consequently, Mr Hawke must recall Parliament and answer to it and Australia.”