POSTAL DISMISSALS

Hawera Star, Volume L, 4 September 1930, Page 4

POSTAL DISMISSALS

SOME UNOFFICIAL EVIDENCE

MINISTER TAKEN TO TASK

CRITICISM IN PARLIAMENT.

(By Telegraph—Special to ‘‘The Star- ) WELLINGTON, Sept, 4. “A remarkable and an almost unpardonable thing,” was the description applied by Mr P. Eraser (Wellington Central) during the debate .on the report the Petitions Committee had presented concerning Ronald Blair, a former employee at Auckland of the Post and Telegraph Department, who, along with others, had been dismissed after investigation into charges concerning discussing racing information over official telephones. The select commttee had expressed the opinion that the punishment meted out was too severe and recommended a petition to the Government for favourable consideration. It was explained by' Mr Donald that he had no statutory authority to reinstate the dismissed employee. This power was exercised by the Public Service Commissioner. ' Mr. Savage (Auckland \\ est) stated that Blair was not on duty when he was alleged to have committed the offence against the regulations. He had rung up a fellow officer to discuss racing, but how oould Blair know the source of the information given him. There was no court in the land that would convict on such evidence. If the words meant anything, the powers of the Postmaster-General under the Act were sucli as fo enable him to take action if lie wanted to; but supposing the law prevented that, surely that fact would open the Minister’s eyes to liis weakness under the law. If Parliament were content to let that state of affairs exist it would soon become a thing of the past. If the Minister were powerless to act Mr. Black (Motuelia): That is the opinion of the Solicitor-General. Mr. Savage: It is not mine. I would like to have other solicitors’ opinions on the matter before I was satisfied that the Minister did not have full power to act. The intention of the Act was that he should have that power. ~ ... Continuing, Mr Savage expressed! the hope that Blair would he reinstated. Mr Donald said that during the time of the trouble he was not in the postticra. of Postmaster-General. He saidJ that, while ho /was Minister of Industries and Commerce, Blair had come •to him and) outlined his case, stating also that he had not spoken the truth to the Magistrate, and had asked another member of the staff to tell a lie to protect him. '“Was that evidence given before the Petitions Committee,” demanded loud voices. Mi Lye (Chairman of 'Committee): No.

The Minister said that Blair’s statement to him had! been made in the presence of another party. '“An extraordinary 'thing has happened,” said Mr Fraser in a very quiet voice. “A case has been tried by a select committee of this l House' at which the evidence was produced on behalf of the Post and Telegraph Department and presumably all) the evidence that could he brought ;hy the Department was placed before it. The Postmaster-General now proceeds to do a a most remarkable and almost unpar- X dionable thing in making the statement I that he has about Blair. That statement should have been made before the ; coirimittee 7 * (hear ; Treap) *' c s-o- thait its conclusions could have been arrived at. In view of that statement and along with the other evidence, I question whether a similar instance of this sort has occurred in the history' of the House. ’ ’ The Minister: I thought the information was known. Mr. Fraser suggested that the honourable thing for Sir. Donald to do was to withdraw the statement and ask members to dismiss it from their minds or let the whole petition go back to the Committee. The Minister assured the House that if he had thought the information was not known to members he would not have made the statement. He said lie was prepared to make a statement to the Petitions Committee outside the House or anywhere. He was quite willing to withdraw the statement if necessary. Replying to the debate Mr Lye (chairman of the committee which heard the petition) suggested that the report might be referred back to the committee to give the Postmaster rGeneral the opportunity to bring his statement forward. Blair had been guilty of a technical breach of the regulations only and his punishment appeared to be entirely too severe. The House adopted the report.