“MUCH SECRECY”
METHODS QF PREMIER C£NSpRSHIP CRITICISED “PEOPLE NOT TRUSTED” (P.R.) WELLINGTON, March 15. “We find increasing secrecy on the part of the Government and particularly on' the part of its leader,” declared Mr . W. A. Sheat (Opp. — Patea) in the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives last night. He appealed to the Government and particularly I to the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, for a greater de:(ree of trust and confidence in the House of Representatives. The people did not like the kind of thing that happened recently when the ' Prime Minister, when in Australia, announced to the' world and only secondly to the people 'of New Zealand tiiat meat rationing was to be introduced in the Dominion. The people were ready to accept it long before that 'announcement was made! That was only one instance of the kind ’of thing undermining the confidence of the people and engendering a feeling that the Government did not trust the people. They were rapidly getting to the stage when thousands of people simply would not believe a word the Government uttered. -
He referred to a statement made recently by the Prime .Minister. It was most serious as far as New Zealand was concerned, but the reaction of part of the peqple—probably a majority of the people—was that the whole story was a hoax, that the Government was putting across something. That certainly was a most unsatisfactory state of affairs. The abuse of the censorship, said Mr. Sheat, was the cause of a lot of distrust. Everybody knew that in wartime rigid censorship must be exercised, but he believed that in New Zealand the censorship had gone far beyond the legitimate needs of the situation- It had been abused to keep from the public facts that it was politically inconvenient for the public to know. There were certain things that had to be kept secret, but censorship should not be used to stifle discussion on other matters of national importance, no matter how strong the criticism might be.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21354, 15 March 1944, Page 4
Word Count
336“MUCH SECRECY” Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21354, 15 March 1944, Page 4
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