THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Wednesday, May 14, 1941. AN INEFFECTIVE TRUCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24606, 14 May 1941, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Wednesday, May 14, 1941. AN INEFFECTIVE TRUCE

Willi goodwill on both sides, the recently proclaimed " political truce " between the Government and Opposition parties could usefully contribute to that national unity which is so ardently proclaimed by Government spokesmen as the goal of Labour's strivings. It is unfortunate that, although only a few weeks have passed since publicity was given to the understanding reached on this subject by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, the latter has already had cause to protest against what he describes as a " flagrant breach " of that understanding on the part of two Ministers. It appears, moreover, that Mr Holland's objection is substantially supported by the facts. Last week, when speaking at a Labour Party function in Christchurch, the Minister of Health launched an immoderate and grossly unfair attack on the doctors because of their continued refusal, as a body, to operate the general practitioner service under conditions arbitrarily laid down by the Government. The Minister's speech was regrettable not merely for the reason that Mr Nordmeyer, with seeming deliberation, again presented a wholly distorted version of the medical profession's viewpoint. He did more than that. He renewed his earlier threat to adopt coercive measures against the doctors, although he knows that in refusing to enter into contracts*the practitioners are acting entirely within their rights as free agents under the law as it stands, and according to their own expert judg-' ment of a scheme which they have condemned from the outset as unsuitable and likely to have an increasingly harmful effect on the standard of medical practice in the Dominion. The Minister spokerather inaptly for one of his dictatorial temperament—of the "-tyranny exercised by persons in responsible positions in the 8.M.A.," and suggested, obviously without the shadow of justification, that members of the "rank and file" of the profession were being prevented by " those "persons" from giving to the Government the co-operation that they would like to give. This is extravagant nonsense, doubtless intended to satisfy the special audience which the Minister found himself permitted to address. But all of it, and a good deal more in similar partisan strain, was given the widest publicity—which is itself unfortunately not a factor that would tend to discourage Mr Nordmeyer's natural ebullience. It must appear, nevertheless, that if Ministers are to be under no obligation to restrain their propagandist activities there can be no corresponding obligation on members of the Opposition. The Minister of Industries and Commerce, it seems, has also, in the past few days, had recourse publicly to half-truths for the bolstering of a party case. When Mr Holland and Mr Fraser discussed the question of a political truce in the middle of April, the understanding was that public platform propaganda would be reduced to a minimum during the Prime Minister's absence from the country. Inevitably, Ministers will have occasion to make public explanations of policy or otherwise to clarify issues that may arise in public discussion. But these duties can surely be discharged without recourse to that type of partisanship which creates discord in domestic affairs. There should be no room for political dissensions while national security is itself threatened, and there should be no need' for Ministers to be reminded that national unity is not likely to be born' out of the continuance of party strife.