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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 29, No. 7. 1966.

"Roasting"

"Roasting"

"The Prime Minister has had a roasting in the House from the Labour Opposition," says NZSPA's parliamentary reporter. Mr. R. J. Tizard asked him, in effect, whether the agent had been planted at the university.

Mr. Holyoake replied that Mr. Godfrey had been studying as a private individual and had only once been asked to act in an official capacity. This was when two members of the Communist-dominated IUS had been in Auckland.

He denied claims that Security Intelligence had been interested in students going on an NZUSA tour of Russia and China.

Mr. Holyoake claimed Mr. Wood's executive had initially given Mr. Godfrey assistance in his investigation.

But Mr. Tizard told the House the Prime Minister had either misled Parliament or had been misled himself by Security Intelligence officer. He quoted:

• Mr. Godfrey's admission to his class and Professor Chapman on the first day of term that he was attending "by direction.''

An Nzspa report, that Miss Honey Martin had been offered 'rewards "—Mr. Tizard said £10 a week—to work part-time for the branch. (Mr Holyoake had denied then were part-time agents.)

• Mr. Godfrey's approach to Mr. Russell Armitage. Auckland student secretary for information on local students making the trip. (This was confirmed for NZSPA by Mr. Wood.)

• An NZSPA report that Quennell. formerly of Auckland and now at Victoria, had later admitted to an NZSPA reporter in Wellington having worked six months for the organisation in the capital after being recruited in Auckland.

Meanwhile, claims by Auckland student paper Outspoke that Mr. Quennell was well in with "the student political circles in Wellington, particularly the student press association." were taken lightly.

A former president of NZUSA. Mr. Michael Moriarty, who flats with Mr. Quennell, dismissed any idea of "undercover work" by his flatmate, and in Christchurch NZSPA president Mr. Warren Mayne denied any present association by Mr. Quennell with NZSPA.

"Perhaps Outspoke are taking their witch hunt a trifle too far. I wouldn't think anyone would be able to find anything 'classifiable' in our activities," he added.