THE GRIFFIN CASE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 83, 2 January 1935, Page 4

THE GRIFFIN CASE

Imprisonment in Australia NO DOMINION ACTION The New Zealand Government has decided not to intervene in the case of Gerald Griffin, whose visit to Australia concerning the anti-war movement recently caused much notoriety, ending with six months’ imprisonment for entering the Commonwealth contrary to its immigration laws. Following on the sentence imposed ou him, several New Zealand bodies representing the No More War Movement and also the Free Speech Movement forwarded resolutions to the Government asking for intervention on behalf of Mr. Griffin. These have been considered by Cabinet, and a reply sent to his representative sympathisers informing them that no action will be taken.

The reply- was as follows: “As Mr. Griffin lias chosen to act deliberately in defiance of the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, he should be prepared to abide by the consequences, and the Government does not consider his case one in which it should make representations to the Commonwealth Government."

Gerald Griffin went to Sydney en route to the Anti-War Congress in Melbourne as the representative of the New Zealand No More War Movement aud was returned to New Zealand by the Commonwealth immigration authorities. He later entered Australia, presumably • under an assumed name, aud was tried and sentenced as an undesirable immigrant. He appealed against the sentence and members of the movement in New Zealand approached the Government in the hopes of securing intervention before the appeal was heard.