WIGRAM 'DROME

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19933, 18 October 1934, Page 8

WIGRAM 'DROME

ALLEGATIONS OF IRREGULARITIES INQUIRY ADVOCATED By Telegraph —Press Association ah WELLINGTON, October 17. Allegations of irregularities at WigAerodrome, Christchurch, were m the House to-day, when Committee presented re!io^n^ I ! d K^ C>ns re sarding a petitioner f . . ought redress for the termination of his employment. Yf' E ; Barnard (Lab., Napier) urged that the whole matter should be !S K l’v!™ < L lnto . Y a ma gistrate, and that it should not be the subject of a Departmental inquiry. tw r F ;- Healy <C ” Wairau) said that allegations were made to the Commntee that the Department’s motor car was used to take the child of an officer to school and travelled 16 miles each day, and that a private aeroplane was overhauled three times without charge.

.The Hon. J. G. Cobbe moved that the petition be referred back to the Committee for reconsideration. Mr J. Hargest (C., Invercargill) supported the Minister and said that the charges were made by a man who was under notice of the termination of his contract. A committee of the House should not be used by a disgruntled individual.

The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates suggested that if fresh evidence was available the matter should go back to the Committee. He thought that Parliament should be very loath to interfere with regular Army channels Mr H. G. Dickie (C„ Patea), chairman of the Defence Committee, said he had no objection to the petition going back to the Committee, but said the Defence Department had shown considerable laxity in the case. It was unfortunate that the Department did not appear before the Committee to answer the prayer of the petition. Unless the Department had fresh evidence. the case should be inquired into. The petition was referred back.