‘Lessons for N.Z. in Whitlam ousting’

Press, 2 September 1986, Page 3

‘Lessons for N.Z. in Whitlam ousting’

By

TESSA WARD

Events that led to the downfall of the Whitlam Government in Australia in 1975 bear important lessons for New Zealanders and their Government, according to a former agent of the American Central Intelligence Agency (C.1.A.), Mr Ralph McGehee. Mr McGehee left yesterday for Australia where he will make a lecture tour describing his experience as a C.I.A. agent. During the last three weeks Mr McGehee has addressed public meetings throughout New. Zealand at the invitation of the New Zealand

Nuclear-Free Zone Committee.

He beiieves that the C.I.A. has increased its involvement in New Zealand to reverse the nuclear-free policy and install a Government that will accept nuclear-war-ship visits and nuclearwar base facilities.

A C.I.A. agent for 25 years, Mr McGehee worked in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. He was a case officer on covert operations, a liaison officer with foreign police and intelligence agencies, and an intelligence analyst. Mr McGehee said he was one of a few people

so far to publicly piece together some of the events involving the C.I.A. that led to the replacement of Mr Whitlam’s Labour Government with a new Liberal-Country Government headed by Mr. Malcolm Fraser. Forged and leaked documents were a common form of C.I.A. attempts to destabilise Governments, Mr McGehee said.

“It has been used several times to split groups within the party of the Government. The ‘poison pen letter’ method is to forge a letter allegedly from a top Government official, like the Prime. Minister, to the head oEI another group within the' party which provokesparty division.

“The Government official’s denial of these letters generally only serves to reduce his or her credibility even more.”

One C.I.A. tactic to retain a Government in power was to leak a forged document that alleged Communist involvement by the Leader of the Opposition before a General Election.

“Once the Government has got back into power it might call for a committee of inquiry into the allegation. More often than not this inquiry is allowed to drag on and nothing comes of it.” ;; The C.I.A. also had

ways of discrediting peace movements, Mr McGehee said.

“One of these is to infiltrate the peace movement with a C.I.A. agent who adopts a stand that cannot be reconciled with the stand of the others in the group leading to its weakening and even a split. Another is to infiltrate and prompt a more extreme form of action, such as burning a police station.

“The original planner of this action, the C.I.A. agent, then fades into the background leaving the others to get arrested and destroying the credibility of the peace movement.” The C.I.A. had also been known to plant agents in a quiet peace rally who did something to harm the movement’s credibility. “The agent might bum a New Zealand flag, for example, and shout antiauthority slogans to provoke a feeling among the general public that the peace movement doesn’t really care about the country. Any public thoughts that the peace movement is disloyal and even Communist-inspired would be welcomed by the C.1.A.” ,;Mr McGehee said that his three weeks of mixing With and addressing people involved with peace groups in New Zealand impressed on him the broad community base of these groups.