HAAST PASS AFFAIR

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 130, 2 May 1940, Page 10

HAAST PASS AFFAIR

DISMISSAL BY MINISTER. SUPPORT FOR ACTION. (By Telegraph—Special to Standard.) WELLiJN GTON, May 1. Justifying Ins dismissal of a Haast Pass worker, Hon. K. Sempie promised to submit to the New Zealand WorKers’ Union documents wluen lie considered fully warranted his drastic action. Mr AC. Eddy (president) and Mr Arthur Cook (secretary) saw this evidence and have sent the following statement to Mr Semple:— “Having previously received an assurance Irom the Minister of l'uonc Works that no workman would be ‘sacked’ on account of holding different political opinions from those of the iVlinister, we readily availed ourselves of the invitation issued by the Minister to peruse the documentary evidence held by him which lie alleged justified him taking the action he did at Haast Pass. To say the/least, we were somewhat amazed by the contents of the document held by the Minister. “We must admit Mr Semple had sufficient evidence of a very danuiging nature justifying him in taking the action lie did. The evidence in Mr Semple’s possession discloses the disagreeable fact that beyond any shadow of doubt, more time was spent by certain individuals on propaganda of a disruptive kind than on work. Under these circumstances, and with a full knowledge of what was going on at Haast Pass, no selfrespecting Minister of the Crown could justify a continuation of conditions that must ultimately lead to a waste of public money that would amount to a public scandal. “The fact that the Minister’s action received the endorsement of practically the whole of the men on the job shows that they were heartily sick of the whole affair and welcomed a clean up.”