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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria University College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 20, No. 6. May 9, 1957

[Introduction]

This summer the New Zealand Travel and Exchange Officers felt that the Scheme for exchange of students between New Zealand and Australia had worked most unsatisfactorily; partly due to the dislocation of transport caused aby the Olympic Games, partly, too, because of extreme inefficiency in Australia. Accordingly Mr. Thomas, President of N.U.A.U.S. (National Union of Australian University Students) was asked to attend our Easter N.Z.U.S.A, Council Meeting. This he did.

The trial got underway when round the table delegates in turn explained how they had suffered: students arrived in Sydney to find that contrary to earlier information the Australian Congress was now to be held at Melbourne (no one had bothered to tell us of the change); detailed arrangements were made, especially in Auckland, to meet students who were announced to be coming to New Zealand, but did not appear; despite ample information sent by New Zealand Congress Controller, P. D. Gibbons, very few Australians came to our Congress, because of bad publicity and weak organisation, etc.

"All thus is too horribly true. We can only plead guilty," Mr. Thomas replied. He assured N.Z.U.S.A. that such circumstances would not re-occur, and asked to be bound over for good behaviour for a year.

The Chief Prosecutor, Mr. Boag, of A.U.C., was not satisfied with the Presidential personal guarantee, and urged that the Exchange Scheme be droapped. He threatened Auckland's refusal to co-operate, which would wreck the scheme.

Eventually, however, the guarantee was worked out under Mr. Boag's supervision, and it was agreed to keep the Scheme going.

G.A.W.