THE GAG AT ARAPUNI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20593, 18 June 1930, Page 10

THE GAG AT ARAPUNI.

Having ordered the engineers at Arapuni to be silent and constituted himself the sole source of public information, the Minister of Public Works has issued the first official bulletin from Dunedin. Whether the new arrangement will satisfy public interest and alleviate public anxiety may be judged after a perusal of this "official information." Mr. Taverner simply says that after receiving reports from the geologist and recommendations from the engineers, the Government will consider what is to be done. That is manifestly the only course to take. But while the Government defers its conclusions until reliable information is placed before it, there is no justification for,i forbidding the engineers to explain to representatives of responsible newspapers what they are doihg to ascertain the character and the dimensions of the problem. It is significant that Mr. Taverner does not offer any excuse for his intervention between the department and the public, obviously because the policy of secrecy cannot be defended. Some explanation should, however, be given for this extraordinary decree by which the Minister has broken the former relations, hitherto distinguished by courtesy and frankness, between tho engineers of his department and the press, the general public and the power supply authorities. The Minister may have acted without considering the implications of his attitude; now that the risks of misunderstanding have been demonstrated, he would be wise to acknowledge his error and withdraw his instructions.