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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 29, No. 14. 1966.

Investigations prove the case

page 30

Investigations prove the case

On Wednesday, 28th September, Mr Logan contacted the editor of Salient, Mr H. Rennie, and voluntarily made a full statement in writing of the events as they were known to him.

Mr Rannie then contacted Mr Hardy in order to confirm the details.

On Thursday Mr Logan told Mr Boshier the details known to him.

At 4 p.m. Mr Rennie placed the full details of his investigations in the hands of Mr John McGrath, V.U.W.S.A. president.

Mr McGrath and Mr Rennie immediataly took steps to complete the investigations. Security Intelligence was asked to comment, and corroboration was sought from the students involved in the neetings.

By 7 p.m. Mr McGrath was convinoed there was substance in the allegations, which had been confirmed by all the investigations made up to that time.

Security Intelligence referred Mr McGrath's enquiry to Mr Barnes, who requested him to contact the Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. J. R. Marshall.

At 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 30th September, Mr McGrath and Mr Rennie called on the Deputy Prime Minister. By common consent Mr Rennie was present in his capacity of editor of "Salient" and the meeting was to be completely open.

Mr Marshall agreed that Mr Laurens on had rung Mr Barnes and that Mr Barnes had rung Security Intelligence in order to obtain details about Mr Boshier.

However, Mr Marshall stated that he page 31did not regard the matter as serious because:

(1)Mr Barnes did not receive any information which was not already public knowledge.
(2)That Mr Barnes did not pass any security information to Mr Laurenson, nor could he do so because he was bound by the Official Secrets Act.

Mr McGrath said he took a serious view of the situation because he firmly believed that security information was obtained for the purpose of maintaining national security and not for political use.

He said the Prime Minister's private secretary's actions were open to the interpretation that if he had obtained confidential information he would still have passed it on.

He said that as Security was responsible to the Prims Minister's Department, Mr Barnes was in a strong position to obtain security information.

On Friday, V.U.W.S.A. executive met and unanimously passed two motions of condemnation and approved the publication of a special issue of Salient to make the fasts public.