CHARGE AGAINST NEWSPAPERS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 272, 13 August 1938, Page 13

CHARGE AGAINST NEWSPAPERS

“One-sided Reporting”

RECENT SOCIAL SECURITY

INQUIRY

An allegation that never had there been such one-sided reporting as there was in the reporting of the proceedings of the Special Parliamentary Committee which investigated the Government’s social security proposals was made by Mr. J. Robertson (Government, Masterton) in the House of Representatives yesterday. It was quite evident, said Mr. Robertson, that the people had been misled about the attiude of the medical men. Never had there been such one-sided reporting. The Rt. Hon. G. AV. Forbes (Opposition, Hurunui) : 'Who do you accuse? The Minister of Lands, Hon. F. Langstone: The Press.

Mr. Robertson said that the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association placed a statement before the committee and it was published in full. The medical witnesses were crossexamined on their own statement, but little or nothing of the cross-examina-tion appeared in the daily Press. Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (Opposition, Riccarton) : That applied to every witnness.

Air. Robertson: That is why I say that never has there been such onesided reporting. I am glad the bon. member for JUccarton endorses what I am saying. When statements submitted to the committee fell down under cross-examination, as they frequently did, not one word was handed out to the public to show that that was the case. Air. Kyle: That’s not correct. Air. Robertson: AVe had one witness, Mr. Mulholland, of the Farmers’ Union, who furnished a statement based on a misconception that retirement at 60 was compulsory. He was corrected during the cross-examination. Therefore all that part of his statement based on that miscon<?eption was valueless, but it went forth. The correction that appeared in the cross-examination was never given to the public. That is why I say the reporting of the proceedings was one-sided in the extreme. The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Adam Hamilton: Wasn’t there an official record of the evidence? Air. Robertson: Yes, but I am referring to the Press reports. Tiie public didn't see the official record. Air. Hamilton: The evidence has been tabled in the House.