Mr McAlpine Steps Down

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31057, 12 May 1966, Page 18

Mr McAlpine Steps Down

The announcement of the pending retirement from politics of Mr J. K. McAlpine will be received with genuine regret by his many admirers. The electors of Selwyn, in particular, will miss him, for he has served his electorate well since the Second World War. Mr McAlpine’s record is not merely one of achievement for his electorate or party, but of conscientious service in the highest councils of State. As a Cabinet Minister, Mr McAlpine has inspired the loyalty of his departmental officers and the respect of his colleagues in the Cabinet. He has not been afraid to risk unpopularity by refusing to be swayed by sectional interest. Even at the height of the “ jets for Hare“wood” controversy, his opponents must have conceded that the Minister of Aviation was acting in the national interest as he saw it.

Mr McAlpine is retiring to devote his time to the many personal interests he has had to forgo as a Cabinet Minister. His retirement, when comparatively young and at the peak of his political career, will be a loss to the Government, to Parliament, and to his party. His choice must be admired; and Canterbury people will welcome back in their midst a man who has won distinction for himself and Canterbury in Wellington and beyond.