Minister Denies P.s.a. Charge (Press, 11 November 1978)

On 11 November 1978, the Minister of Social Welfare, Mr Walker, addressed allegations of intimidating public servants after complaints were raised by the Public Service Association (PSA) in Christchurch. The PSA's regional secretary, Mr J. M. McKenzie, claimed that Mr Walker had attempted to exert pressure on public servants who disagreed with him, particularly regarding comments he made on an abortion survey connected to the Papanui electorate. Mr Walker responded to these accusations by describing the referral of letters from private citizens to relevant Ministers as a "normal enough" procedure, indicating that such actions were routine within governmental operations. He particularly highlighted a situation involving a Health Department sociologist, Mr M. S. Waghorne, who was reportedly reprimanded by the Deputy Director-General of Health after he expressed concerns about Mr Walker’s remarks on the abortion survey through a letter. In his remarks, Mr Walker suggested that the criticism from the PSA was an inappropriate use of the association’s role, arguing that Mr McKenzie was exploiting his position to promote a specific agenda regarding the controversial issue of abortion. He asserted that public servants, like the rest of the community, had a range of views on the topic, and it was inappropriate for McKenzie to present a unified position on such a divisive issue. Mr Walker emphasised that those public servants who held differing views were being compelled to align with McKenzie and Waghorne's perspectives, which they fundamentally opposed. Furthermore, he pointed out that Mr Waghorne’s official links to the Health Department did not justify his attempts to influence policy based on personal beliefs, framing it as an inappropriate leveraging of his professional role for personal aims. The discourse highlighted the ongoing tensions within the public service over sensitive societal matters, such as abortion rights, and reflected broader societal divisions on the issue at the time.

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