Government Owned

NAC to Remain 100 per cent.

NEW ZEALAND’S Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. MacDonald, announced in Parliament during July that the New Zealand National Air ways Corporation is to remain 100 per cent. Government-owned.

It will be recalled that when the present Government came to office it declared its intention of selling NAC, “lock, stock and barrel” to private enterprise.

But this turned out to be a case of the Socialist Government having once scrambled the eggs, they re mained scrambled. Private enter prise was interested in the propo sition—until the Leader of the Oppo sition, Mr. Nash, gave warning to interested parties that, so soon as his party returned to power it would immediately resume the airline— “ Lock, stock and barrel!”

Nevertheless, the Government called for tenders, but later an nounced that no “suitable” applica tions had been received.

NAC employees also thought of going into the business themselves, co-operatively. The Government then endeavoured to reach an ar rangement with private enterprise whereby the Government would hold 51 per cent, of the shares —but this scheme also failed to attract interest.

NAC, which pioneered the Island services from New Zealand with its Dakota aircraft, seems likely to with draw from the Samoa-Cook Islands sector as soon as TEAL, which flies the same route, has established water landing facilities at Western Samoa.

TEAL cannot land at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, this island being dependant on a land-plane service —but elsewhere along the route to Tahiti, TEAL is able to provide a better service than the NAC Dakota service.

Mr. R. J. Minnitt, who is 39 years old, and has spent most of his official life in the British Colonial Service in Hong Kong, where he filled important posts, has been ap pointed Chief Secretary of the Western Pacific High Commission in succession to Mr. G. D. Cham berlain. Mr. Chamberlain left Suva for London in June.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Thomas were in New Zealand from American Samoa during July. Mr Thomas is Assistant Director ot Agriculture, Pago Pago.