‘Questions focus on Minister’

Press, 3 February 1987, Page 2

‘Questions focus on Minister’

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

The competence of Government administration had been raised by the Penn report and other documents, said Mr Philip Burdon, member of Parliament for Fendalton, and the only Opposition member of Parliament from Christchurch.

Questions had to be focused on the Minister of Employment, Mr Burke, and the way he was running his department, Mr Burdon said. It would be a matter for Parliament to consider whether Mr Burke had deliberately misled it or whether he did not know what was happening in his own portfolio. The Penn report had revealed a case to answer on questions of intimidation and financial mismanagement, Mr Burdon said.

But on September 28 last year Mr Burke said that a thorough investigation by his department into the Christchurch National Marae’s involvement in subsidised work programmes since 1980 had “found no evidence of any financial irregularity.” Were there any Labour Department staff in Christchurch who knew how bad things were in the marae? said Mr Burdon. If so, had they been listened to? Had these competent staff been promoted or demoted, rewarded or punished, for their competence? “The whole thing smacks of a departmental cover-up and the country wants to know if Mr Burke himself has been involved,” Mr Burdon said.

“The police have long had the gravest doubts about what was happening but did the Minister of Police, Mrs Hercus, pass

these doubts on from her department?

“Is it true that the police advised Mrs Hercus that the reason the gang problem in Christchurch was getting worse instead of better was because her Government was throwing money at them instead of dealing with them?” Mr Burdon said. The National Marae in Christchurch ought to have become one of Maoridom’s greatest assets. “Instead, it is more of a disgrace to Maoridom and shows the abject failure of social leadership by the Government,” Mr Burdon said. “Instead of being frustrated, gangs are being paid under this Government.”