MINISTER'S STATEMENT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 54, 25 August 1939, Page 8

MINISTER'S STATEMENT

RECENT PUBLIC MEETING OBJECTION TO TREATMENT In a letter to the Opotiki News, Mr A. G. Hultquist f member fur the district, states: In due course I propose to revisit Opotiki and give the public a further opportunity to hear what I have to say in regard to both road and rail matters, but the meeting must be arranged under conditions which will protect me against any infringement of my lights to be heaid without restriction or conditions of a ham-stringing nature. Let me place on record here and now that all effective representations in regard to road matters and the railway in particular had alrcadv been made by me prior to the meeting and no additional good purpose was even remotely possible oi being served as a result of carrying the resolution in regard to the railway; that is, additional to certain guarantees I had already obtained without the passing of any resolutions. My own view is that the resolution could but not necessar. ilv would be interpreted as an at-

tempt, to stampede the Premier ana the Govt and I have always, in, my approach to the Minister Irom time to time, carefully avoided doing or saying anything which would lend itself to that interpretation, and I think even my most enthusiastic political foe would agree that I liav;.' been fully successful in the matter of "'getting things done" for my electorate. However, the extent to which success attended my efforts in regard to the railway and the story of the protest I made because of the fact that a sum of only £5000 appeared on the main estimates this ycar_ ant! the subsequent assurances I obtained are subject matter lor an address I will deliver later, but which could have been dc-iivcred on the sth iiist. Surely aV. fair-minded residents Avili ag'"ee that the treatment I re. ccived on the sth inst had the effect of changing 1 lie' rigiiO of the public to lit ar the details ir. regard to road and rail matters at the earliest possible dat<> 5 into a right which became mine, and which they transferred to me directly, to select a con venient occasion at a later date to make a statement in full. Such an occasion will be chosen by me as soon as it is conveniently possible to visit Opotiki again, and the Opotiki Branch of the Labour P;*rty will be the conveners of same. Mention of the Labour Party Branch reminds me that the time is opportune *to place on record my appreeia tion of the assistance the branch Iras been in matters of public interest and in tackling private problems, ' apart altogether from its function as a political entity. Opotiki has good cause to be thankful that the bijaneh is alive to the needs of the Borough and County and because the extent to which the branch is an a:'. set to the town is not so widely known. I take pleasure in publicly acknowledging the good work the branch is doing. Kindly permit me to acknowledge and thank the many residents of Opo tiki County and Borough for their letters of sympathy with me in the treatment I received at Opotiki on the sth inst. I have received so many letters from friends of both political opinions—all of them expressions of sympathy—that it would be impossible to reply to them aii and at the same time attend to ir.v other Parliamentarv duties.