N.Z. DIVISION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 19, 23 January 1943, Page 6

N.Z. DIVISION

STATEMENT DENIED

PARLIAMENT'S POSITION

(P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Parliament was never given the opportunity to discuss where the New Zealand Division would serve, -said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Holland, replying to the statement by the Minister of Supply (Mr. Sullivan) that Parliament as a whole and not the Government or War Cabinet unanimously reached the decision followed. "I wish to emphatically contradict tlie statement," said Mr. Holland. "Mr. Sullivan in his statement is giving information about a secret session.— which is supposed to be secret —but that would not be so bad if what he said gave a proper picture of the-posi-. tion. Mr. Sullivan speaks of the decision being made by a unanimous vote of Parliament. In point of fact no vote of Parliament has ever been taken as to where the Division should serve. The simple facts are that the negotiations over the disposition of the Division were undertaken between Mr.. Fraser and Mr. Churchill without consultation with Parliament, and without its knowledge or concurrence. The first I knew of the negotiations was when cablegrams were read to us in secret session and the Prime Minister torn us the War Cabinet's decision, which left Parliament no option but to agree. To say that Parliament made the decision is entirely wrong." Mr. Holland said he was not,at liberty to disclose what happened i -in the secret session, but since Mr. Sullivan had told the public that tha decision was unanimous, which it was not, he wished to make it quite clear that he himself was not aware of any negotiations until , they were .completed. Moreover, he had objected strongly to such negotiations being opened without the prior approval of Parliament. He was satisfied that had Parliament been consulted before Mr. Churchill was approached a course ve*y different from that taken would have been adopted. ,