Secrecy and Misleading Information

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26916, 30 October 1948, Page 6

Secrecy and Misleading Information

P.A. WELLINGTON, Oct. 29. A system of almost war-time secrecy over reports from the scene of the air disaster was instituted to-day by the Air Department in Wellington on instructions, it was stated, from the Prime Minister’s Department. Earlier, air force and police personnel were free to offer the press the fullest cooperation in the way of information. To-day, when a Press Association representative called at the Karioi landing ground, he was informed that as from this morning instructions had been issued by the Air Department at Wellington that all press representatives were to be excluded from the ground and no information given to them. Any information, it was stated, would be issued through the publicity section of the Prime Minister's Department. The Karioi landing ground is a public landing ground used by the Ruapehu Aero Club, and taken

over during the war for air force use. The missing plane was, discovered to-day at 8.40, a fact which was immediately known to Air Control, but no information was given until after the announcement by Mr Nash in the House at 10.30 a.m. At 11 a.m. the National Broadcasting Service repeated the announcement, and added that a ground party had left when in fact it did not leave until 2 o’clock this afternoon. Similarly to-night, a broadcast of a progress report was made on the ground party, and the establishment of a second party at the Blyth Hut, which is miles from the scene of the crash, and when in fact no party had left for the Blyth Hut up to midnight. Instructions were also issued to police personnel from Wellington tonight that no information relating to to-morrow’s activities was to be given except direct to the Prime Minister's Department at Wellington.