Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 9. 1967.
First Executive meeting controversial
First Executive meeting controversial
Controversial resolutions from this year's AGM met with further controversy at last Wednesday's meeting of the new Executive.
AS a result of the AGM recommendations, motions instructing the Secretary to write to the Prime Minister expressing opposition to New Zealand's and the United States' policies in Vietnam, to the French and Chinese nuclear weapons tests, and the New Zealand Security Service were put by Owen Gager (Publications Officer). and Julie Rayner (Education Officer) .
Opposition to the method by which the protests were to be made was voiced by Jim Wallace (Men's Vice-President) and Larry Stenswick (Secretary), and Mr. Wallace moved that Mr. Gager form a sub-committee to investigate ways in which the protests could be effectively im-plemented. But Mr. Gager reused to be cajoled on to any such committee.
Larry Stenswick said it was "absurd to present some completely unreasoned letter" to Mr. Holyoake without any kind of reasoned documentation. In further argument Mr. Gager said that expressing the views contained in the AGM resolutions in a letter to the Prime Minister was "the minimum action we can take." In view of the large percentage of those present at the AGM who abstained from voting on these issues, "any more action would attribute to people ideas which perhaps, they do not hold," said Mr. Gager.
Motions that the Prime Minister be written to informing him of the AGM protests were finally carried only to be delayed by a notice of rescission from Mr. Stenswick.