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Salient: Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Vol. 32, No. 8. 1969.

The day the Brig missed out

The day the Brig missed out

The Danger in compiling secret files on private citizens, looking for sedition and subversion in places where they did not exist, has been made only too obvious to the Director of Security.

Seven years ago Brigadier Gilbert made a speech to the Returned Servicemen's Association (coincidental?) which resulted in two sticky incidents, including one apology (plus a reported $2,500 in damages, paid by the tax-payer).

The apology read:

"On the 12th day of June. 1962, I addressed the Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Returned Services Association on the subject of 'Communism in New Zealand'. Included in this address was the following statement:

" 'Influence: These points are the result of direct Communist influence and are excellent examples of the Communist machination of introducing political elements into the work of organisations which are professedly non-political.

"'In a largely-attended anti-nuclear meeting, held in the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber recently, the intervention of Communists was quite apparent. The resolutions adopted by the meeting by acclamation were prepared by a man who is closely associated with the Communist Party executives. This man appeared on the platform to hand them to the chairman of the meeting, who dutifully read them out. For that particular meeting, the handbills and brochures had been printed on the printing press which is owned and operated by the Communist Party.'

"I have been informed on behalf of Mr Frank Haydn Haigh that he was the Chairman of a Committee which organised the anti-nuclear meeting to which I referred and that he prepared the first resolution put to the meeting.

"I am happy to accept Mr. Haigh's assurance that this anti-nuclear meeting was non-political and I now believe that it was not sponsored by any political party. Consequently, my statement that the intervention of Communists was quite apparent at this meeting was unfounded. I am satisfied that my statement that the resolutions adopted by the meeting were prepared by a person closely associated with Communist Party executives was similarly unfounded.

"Accordingly, I hereby unreservedly withdraw these statements and tender my sincere regret and apologies to Mr Haigh for having made them."

A writer for the New Zealand Monthly Review, "T.P.H.", wrote an article on the refusal of authorities at Victoria University to allow their rolls to be used for the purpose of tracing youths who had not registered for military service.

Apart from quoting extracts from the article which distorted its viewpoint, the Brigadier said:

"The author is a schoolmaster … with a lengthy record of membership in "communist-front organisations."

Mr T. P. Hogan, the author, had never been a school master.

The Brigadier later apologised for the mishap, but refused to retract any remarks implying Mr Hogan was a member of the "Society for Relations with Russia, the C.N.D. or the Peace Council."

Mr Hogan rejected this further "libel" and wrote to the Prime Minister, Mr Holyoake, hut Mr Holyoake said he would take no action.

Mr Hogan then wrote a further article for Monthly Review to which Brigadier Gilbert replied that what he said was "substantially true".

The Public Service Journal commented at the time that Mr. Hogan was always "forthright in expressing his views".

"It would indeed be appalling to discover that the expression of opinions automatically attracted the attention of security agents and resulted in the compiling of a 'security dossier'."

Mr Hogan died before he could take the matter furher.