POLICY ENDORSED
PUBLIC SERVANTS ATTITUDE TO POLITICS BIG WELLINGTON MEETING (P.A.) WELLINGTON, April 15. Nearly 900 public servants at the annual meeting of the Wellington section of the New Zealand Public Service Association last night endorsed the policy statement of the national executive of political parties and the political affiliations of public servants. The meeting was the largest in the history of the Wellington section. The principal item on the agenda was an address by the president of the New Zealand Public Service Association, Mr. J. P. Lewin, who made a statement on communism and civil liberties as they affected public servants “Campaign of Misrepresentation”
He declared that “the mounting campaign of misrepresentation and crude slander” made some statement necessary. It was found desirable to state the association’s position and that of its office bearers courageously and clearly. To this end a statement was drafted by the national executive. Ho himself had during the last two or three years been several times publicly defamed, he said, but this was .an inescapable penalty of being president of the association which during that period had won more than £2,500,000 per annum for its members. Attacks on President
At one time it was alleged that he was the tool of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. Now various political organs and organisations implied that he was a Communist and a subversive element. The recent attack of the New Zealand Retailers’ Federation was one of several made upon him. This federation had reason for disliking him in his present official capacity (Mr. Lewin is assistant director of price control). Mr. Lewin said he had nothing to hide. He was not a Communist and had never brought politics into the association as far as he knew. That statement covered also the two vicepresidents, general treasurer and all other members of the national executive.
An official report issued after the meeting stated that the executive’s policy statement on the rights of public servants, as published on Tuesday last, was endorsed on a show of hands with eight dissentients. Full support was given to the executive in its work on behalf of members
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22612, 15 April 1948, Page 6
Word Count
358POLICY ENDORSED Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22612, 15 April 1948, Page 6
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