Govt pressed on P.O. loans

Press, 29 June 1985, Page 1

Govt pressed on P.O. loans

PA Wellington The Leader of the Opposition, Mr McLay, has sought under the Official Information Act to establish who was responsible for the 19 per cent Post Office loan scheme. Mr McLay yesterday made public a copy of a letter to the PostmasterGeneral, Mr Hunt, seeking details through the act. Among the questions in the letter are: ® Was the establishment of the scheme approved by the Postmaster-General in his Ministerial capacity, by the Cabinet, or by a Cabinet committee? ® Was the decision on the termination of the scheme made by the PostmasterGeneral, by the Cabinet, or by a Cabinet committee? <3 On what date was that decision made? Under the scheme, people who did not bank with the Post Office were able to

borrow up to $60,000 at 19 per cent interest. The scheme was curtailed earlier this week when funds dried up. The Opposition says, however, that the scheme had effectively not functioned since May 24. Mr McLay said the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, had said at a new conference on Thursday, that “the buck stops with the PostmasterGeneral.” “These comments strongly imply that all decisions made in respect of the scheme were those of the Postmaster-General alone — and that Mr Lange and his Cabinet colleagues were not in any way involved,” Mr McLay said. “It is astonishing that millions of dollars of public money could be committed to a hair-brained scheme that the Prime Minister himself has strongly criticised.”