NZLSA Conference: The Record Put Straight

I would like to set straight some of the more glaring inaccuracies in Bernard Randalls' account of the 1976 NZ Law Students Conf. as published in the last issue of Salient. But first, one question for your intrepid reporter Mr Randall; how do you expect anyone to believe in your credibility, when you attend only part of one out of half a dozen conference functions yet purport to state the whole Conference was a dismal failure? Most strange indeed.

For the record, the Conference was a very credible success; e.g. over sixty students attended the Friday night Stein, fifty-five staff and students attended the Seminar on Saturday morning (the small number at the Seminar may not be entirely unrelated to the success of the Stein) and a mere 110+ attended the main function on Saturday night. There were seven delagates from Otago Law Faculty, not one Mr Randall claimed. It was regrettable that the Conference was held on the eve of Canterbury Law Students mid year exams, quite an oversight. However I would like to note that the VUW Law Faculty Club undertook an extremely short notice to hold the Conference, which was originally Scheduled for the May holidays at Otago. As one of the organisers of the Conference and a members of the 'reactionary" VUW Law Faculty Club, this letter may appear a case of sour grapes. I hope not. But I do object to Mr Randall using the pages of Salient to grind a personal axe; I strongly suspect that Mr Randall used the medium of obstensibly (mis) reporting the Conference to mount a bitter attack against certain members of the VUW Law Faculty Club.