Jobs for all

Reappointment of Dr Peter Tapsell as chairman of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and as a member of the Tourist Development Council is an encouraging indication that Labour Party supporters are not going to be shut out of all the committees, councils and commissions the National administration has to find people for. Dr Tapsell stood in the last general election against Mr Lapwood in Rotorua.

It was a pleasant gesture on the Minister's part to emphasise burial of the political hatchet by announcing the re-appointments himself. The temptation for any party in office is to reward its own supporters with jobs from the patronage fount it controls. It is encouraging that the Government acknowledges that not all the expertise resides on its side of the political fence.