Mr McLay attacks political journalists

Press, 13 April 1984, Page 6

Mr McLay attacks political journalists

PA Blenheim New Zealand’s political’ journalists have been criticised by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr McLay. He could give almost daily examples of what he regarded as “poor political journalism,” he said. In Blenheim to address the National Party’s Marlborough electorate meeting, Mr McLay cited one such example as the news media response to changes in the rape law which now- allow for a husband to be charged with rape within marriage. “Within 12 hours of the announcements that Parliament had made a policy decision on rape within marriage, Radio New Zealand had broadcast and newspapers were publishing from various people that the Government " had changed its mind as a result of heavy pressure from 1 various organisations. “If I had made that claim I would not have been allowed to get away with it without being critically questioned by the journal-

ists who took that statement," he said. The statement had been broadcast and published “completely uncritically” and in his view this showed that there was not sufficient, professionalism in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Contrasting New Zealand political journalists with those in Australia, Britain, and the United States, Mr McLay said the over-all assessment for New Zealand was “poor.” He believed his view was shared by a majority of New Zealand Parliamentarians.

Mr McLay dismissed the claim that the Government had "changed its mind” over the rape law, saying it had always been the intention to set final policy after considering submissions for and against the policy. “Now that evidence has been received and considered, we have made the policy decision,” he said. Questioned about the move to charge the news media for space in Parlia-

ment, Mr McLay said this resulted from a management audit of the legislative department of the State Services Commission. “The Government considered it and decided it should be done,” he said.

Too much of’journalism was trying to find the negative in the Government in New Zealand today, the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, said last evening. The Parliamentary Press Gallery provided a strong contrast today to the one when he entered Parliament in 1960.

Week after week, the Monday morning political commentary articles in the “Dominion” attacked the Government, he said. Thg impact of the news media on the public could be important, Sir Robert said.

“A swing to Labour during the last election campaign was a result of the impact of television,” he said.

Supporting his claim that the New Zealand press only wanted to find negative in government, Sir Robert said that only this week he had released a statement about the opening of a project by the Kaipara Dairy Company in Dubai which he said, was not published in any newspaper.