COIN DESIGNS Govt. ‘Should Have Consulted Public’

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30983, 12 February 1966, Page 1

COIN DESIGNS Govt. ‘Should Have Consulted Public’

(Neu> Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 11. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) said today that the public should have been taken into the Government’s confidence over the selection of decimal coin designs.

He said today’s Labour Party caucus in Wellington was strongly critical of the original designs approved by the Government because they were unimaginative. Mr Kirk said the designs were another example of the “father knows best” attitude which characterised the Government's administration. “It wanted to hide something from the people until it was too late to reverse the position,” he said. Mr Kirk said that although the Labour Party did not condone a breach of trust, it had been absurd of the Undersecretary of Finance (Mr Muldoon) to describe the leak of the coin designs last week as a breach of security. “Had the Government been prepared to take the public into its confidence, it would have saved itself another humiliation,” he said. The Government would have observers in Australia for the change-over to decimal currency next week, Mr

Kirk said. “In view of the fact that Labour could be in office at the time of the change-over in New Zealand next year it would have been in the interests of the country to have an opposition representative with the observer team.”

Art Society’s Choice (N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, Feb. 11. The council of the Auckland Society of Arts has written to the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) suggesting that the Government adopt the decimal coin designs submitted by Professor Paul Beadle. The council said that in its opinion these designs stood head and shoulders above others reproduced in the daily newspapers.