Silence on press secretary’s fate

Press, 8 December 1988, Page 1

Silence on press secretary’s fate

OLIVER RIDDELL

By (

in Wellington

A cloak of silence descended on Parliament last evening over whether the contract of Mr Bevan Burgess, the chief press officer to the Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, had been renewed or not.

This is because the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have both adopted the policy of not commenting on individual contracts.

Mr” Douglas, with Mr Burgess, \ returned to Wellington yesterday after 13 days overseas.

Mr Burgess was not available for comment while Mr Douglas issued a statement supporting Mr Burgess but not saying whether his contract had been renewed.

Mr Lange would not discuss the matter. But Beehive sources say he has been a prime mover in ensuring Mr Burgess’s contract was not renewed.

Mr Palmer was in Antarctica and could not be contacted. But the version of events emerging from the Beehive says that Mr Burgess’s contract has not been renewed and that he must already know this?

The version “The Press” has been told goes in stages:—

• Two days before Messrs Douglas and Burgess left to go overseas — on November 22 —

Mr Douglas was told by Messrs Lange and Palmer that Mr Burgess’s contract would not be renewed.

© Mr Douglas objected to this decision and asked that it be deferred until his return.

® The day the two men left — on November 24 — Mr Douglas was handed a letter to give to Mr Burgess while they were away, advising Mr Burgess that his contract had not been renewed.

® This format was apparently adopted so that Mr Burgess could

learn of the decision in the company of the Minister with whom he has worked closely for four years.

@Mr Douglas discussed the letter with Mr Burgess and neither man accepted its decision, on two grounds — that Mr Burgess did not deserve not to be rehired and that the Prime Minister did not have the power and/ or right to interfere in a contract between a Cabinet Minister and his press officer.

0 The two men returned from overseas yesterday and Mr Douglas issued a statement backing Mr Burgess.

In this statement, Mr Douglas said he had “the utmost confidence in the ability and integrity” of Mr Burgess.

He said he was appalled at the nature and extent of unsubstantiated comment made by the news media on Mr Burgess’s position “sometimes with hints of sources in the Prime Minister’s office.”

The issue was confused yesterday by claims that Mr Burgess had been “sacked.”

Mr Burgess cannot be “sacked” because he is under contract to Mr Douglas; the only way he can be removed is by not having his contract renewed.

The question is then whether it had been renewed or not, and that question is not being answered.

De Cleene, page 6