N.Z. War Council To Be Discontinued

Northern Advocate, 13 August 1942, Page 5

N.Z. War Council To Be Discontinued

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Announcing today that the functions of the War Council will be discontinued the Prime Minister (Mr. I raser) paid warm tribute to the services given by members during the Council's existence. At a recent meeting, said Mn Frasei, the War Council fully discussed its relationship with the War Administration and the view was expressed that, following on the assumption by the War Administration of many of the duties and functions previously performed by the War Council, the time was ripe for a full coordination of all the War Council’s duties and functions under the new administrative body. In making a unanimous recommendation that the War Council should terminate its functions, members offered to continue to place their individual services at the disposal of the Government in any form that might be required, and this offer had been gladly availed of. Country Owes Debt

Mr. Fraser added that, as Prime Minister, he was deeply appreciative of the very helpful and conscientious manner in which the Council members had approached every task with which they had been confronted. The basis of service, was, of course, of a part-time, voluntary nature and, in many cases attendance of members at monthly meetings meant travelling considerable distances from their every-day work, thus entailing real sacrifices. The country should realise its dent to members of the War Council, which had been the first body representative oi all sections of the community, to come together and assume a share of the great and growing war burden, and its representative basis had given its recommendations authority of first importance. Important Deliberations

Mr. Fraser said he was sure the country would agree with him that the War Council, throughout a most difficult period, had performed valuable work and that the whole-hearted thanks of the Government and community were due to members for their ‘unselfish and self-sacrificing devotion to the highly important deliberative, and advisory functions which they had so successfully discharged.

These functions had been on twe planes—that of investigation, which was done through the Defence and Military Affairs Committee and the Primary and Secondary Industries Committee, and also a body of recommendation to the Government and the War Cabinet. The Council had had wide representation, farmers being represented by Mr. Mulholland, workers by Mr Eddy, employers by Mr. C. C. Davis, the Federation of Labour by Mr. McLagan. the Returned Services Association by Mr. Perry. Maoris by Mr. Tirikatene and the Legislature by Messrs. Lowry and Atmore. The Government also appointed Sir Andrew Russell to the Council.