STATEMENT BY MEMBER

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 223, 21 August 1939, Page 2

STATEMENT BY MEMBER

: ■ ; £?•* . „ RE€ENTTv> PUBLIC MEETING TO TREATMENT

iSipF - v „ ™4i^q;-the Opotiki Nows. -Mr. for the disBjfiiilfK# • ill , tr-.pi , o[)ose to revisit | P 1 u further ; what .1 have to Kj^^m^p^|l'v ; J'ead iUttl rail l must, he arr hit "’ vi t protect mtyAlgn ms*E>" am ml nngement of my rights' 'td'l)e licked without restriction <u ' oVhtium of a “hamstringing'’ mif-fiVo.' Let me 'pla.ee Cu boro and non - tliat.' ftlll'feft^^^.'r^rlsehta Lions ih regard and the railway in pnrtjipnlarj been made by and no addlitional goc^l M& s even remotely as a result of (%Mrryiu^t|^^.^^^9 A 'j.ri'. rcgard to the rail vu’iy*:' toal \|ji|'. ; Tltkl i Lional to certain obtained without 1 resolutions. My resolution could. bu'F he interpreted as 'aif|,,.>lo tin' J'lymi.-r sii'J/isSiri®" 1 1,:,, v preach to the .\l iinsteij time. carefully ino anything which to that interpretation, even my most would agree that I ha cess! ul in- the matter things done” for my However, the extent cess attmuled my efforts in regard/tQ; t la> railway and the story of''tile'pro-* test 1 made because of the fact ihat> a sum of only tdl'OO appeared on they main estimates this year, and tho'i . subsequent assurances l o’htaiued are.t subject matter for an address I will die-liver later', Imt which could have been delivered on the oth. inst.

Surely all lair-minded residents will agree that the treatment I received oil the dth. inst. had the effect- of (hang-: ing the riglit of the public t<> hear the details in regard to road and rail matters at the earliest possible date, into a- right which became mine, and which they transferred to me directly, to select a convenient occasion at a later date to make a statement in full. Such an occasion will lie chosen by me as soon as it is conveniently pass ible to visit Opotiki again, and the Opotiki Branch of the Labour Party will be the convenors of same. Mention of the. Labour Party Branch reminds me that the time is opportune, to place on record my appreciation of tin* assistance the Branch has been in matters el public interest and in tackling private problems. apart altogether from, its function as a political entity. Opotiki lias good cause to he thankful that the Branch is alive to the needs of the Borough and County and because the extent to which the Branch is an asset to the town, is not so widely known, I take pleasure m publicly acknowledging the good work the branch is doing.

Kindly permit me to acknowledge and thank the many residents- of Opo tiki County and l>orough lor their letters el sympathy witli me in the treatment 1 rec-eiveiil ;it Opotiki oil tlu> -jth. inst. 1 have received so many letters from friends of hotli political opiniom all of them expressions ol sympathy —that il would he impossible to rr;>!\ to them all and at the same time attend to my other Parliamentary duties. Acting-Prime Minister's Letter. The I i»l low in**; copy of a letter received hy .Mr. Jiiiltquist. from the Acting-Prime Minister, Hon. I’. J‘laser, has been forwarded hy the district member for publication.— I have received- your letter of the Stli. instant, together with the accompanying newspaper cuttings. and desire to thank you for ye nr account ol the meeting referred to therein. r l he information which you have iurnislied will he of service when consideration is given to any representations from the Opotiki County Guuneil in regard to tl;e matter of the proposed/ railway. Letter to Opotiki County Council. Mr. Hultquist has also asked the Opotiki News to publish the - following copy of a letter he has written to the the county clerk, Mr. .J. T. Merry: , The letter reads as lollmvs: Dear Mr. 'Merry,— I desire .to acknowletllge receipt of your letter dated JOtli. inst. and.to thank you for same, and copies of resolutions referred to the public meeting at Opotiki on the

otli. inst. 1 note you have forwarded copies of the resolutions to the. Acting-Premier, who, no doubt, will confer- with me in regard to the subject matter of -the resolutions and in due course you will receive a reply informing your Council of the Government’s intentions. While on the subject, 1 desire to inform your Council (as the conveners of the Public Meeting), that i much resent the unparalleled treatment meted out to- me by your Chairman, who presided. i understood from the advertisement which appeared in the Opotik.l News, that the meeting was “public” in the widest sense, and that all persons interested were invited to be present and participate in the discussion. As you know, I received a special invitation. The notice convening the meeting was of an all-inclusive hind, and the meeting .should have been ail-inclusive in regard to speaking rights. But certain fundamental lights belong to a member of every Parliament, and the unexplainable action of your Chairman in refusing me the privilege of exercising those rights before the resolutions were put to the meeting, constituted in my opinion, a gratuitous insult—not only to myself—hut to the Government as well, and to the Acting Premier and to the Minister of Public Works, both of whom 1 had authority to represent, and from both of whom 1 had messages to deliver. But J was not permitted to- speak until a speech would have been unhelpful as the meeting had already served flic purpose its conveners intended it should. Would I have been justified in adopting any other attitude than that which i did take up? Verilly. i would be a spineless sort of an individual to have acted otherwise. I shall take greater care on another occasion to ascertain first whether I will be allowed to exercise those privileges which are rightly, mine before attending meetings convened to discuss public questions in the. electorate in which 1 am tho public’s representative. As the whole question of the treatment to me is one of public interest, I am forwarding to the Opotiki News a copy of this expression of my resentment of the undemocratic action of your chairman, whose behaviour in the chair was surely not in accord with the wishes of tho vast majority of those present. 1 refer specifically to his repudiation of my right to make a full and complete statement in regard to the questions of road and rail communication for Gpotiki and deliver tiie messages I had from the Ministers already referred to.