The Right Hand Column

Mowbray is Wilson's Landlord! This startling bit of info comes courtesy of our Upland Rd. member of the T.P.A. Seems that Peter has shifted into a flat just across the way from Varsity. Our wideawake informant tells us that reactionary Mowbray has long been known to hang around this place, although he doesn't live there. Quite by accident our informant happened to come across some mail delivered to Wilson's flat, addressed to a company seemingly owned by John. A quick nip down to the companies office and all was revealed. There on the flies is the company's address, to wit the building let to Peter, and who should be the majority shareholder but John himself. A minority shareholder is the person who collects the rent, so it would seem that at least John knows how to keep clear of the TPA. Now that Wilson is in the hotbed of capitalism will he sell us out to John or the Trots, (who incidentally own the place across the road.)

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So the tour is off. Well despite the obvious fact that there is injustice in South Africa, I feel disturbed at the way a small group of people, admittedly fairly vocal around here, can force the Government to call it off. When it gets to the stage that threats of violence by a small group of people can dictate to the proletariat what they want, things are moving a full circle, and the idealists may be getting power hungry. What they will try next is anyone's guess, but presumably it will be landlords, innocent or otherwise, and poor old Rama looks like he's the first to get the torch. When we get such an emotional issue as the tour, surely the time has come for open debate on the subject and a referendum, rather than barely veiled threats on both sides. I do not belong to Hart, Care or Fart, but by not joining any of these groups it seems as though we are denied the final say in the matter.

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Your favourite landlord and mine, Madhav Rama, is certainly getting it in the neck. While it would seem there are obvious injustices in the way he runs things, as even Trevor Young and other MPs have noticed, I wonder how excited people would get if he was a white. In my opinion there are people a hell of a lot worse than Rama, but the TPA seems to keep clear of them, even though they are fully aware of the injustices meted out.

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Latest company to watch is Rippon Holdings. Seems that Pat has sold out his share in Aztec investments, a majority property speculator to Howard Oliver, of Chapman Tripp Co, Wellington's Conservative company lawyers. Pat has now formed his new company, and in so doing a lot of properties have come on the market, ex Aztec. Either way he seems to make a nice capital gain, but since he has the property bug, his next moves should be interesting.

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So the Kelburn Progressive Association wants to stop Kentucky Fried Chicken opening in Kelburn. As students we should of course fight this retrograde move. Even Kentucky will give a better deal to students than we get in our own cafe, from our own friendly American owned caterers.

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