THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
8 May 1996

RINDOS PAPERS SEIZED FROM UNI

    By Grace Meertens

Potentially sensitive documents relating to the Rindos
affair were seized from the University of WA yesterday
after a parliamentary committee sent a parliamentary
officer to serve a subpoena on the UWA administration.

The committee, which is investigating the denial of tenure
to former UWA academic David Rindos, sent the Usher of the
Black Rod, Ian Allnut, to serve the subpoena yesterday
morning in a move which is understood to have angered the
university. 

A subpoena was also served on a former employee of the
university.

Committee chairman Barry House said the committee opted
for a subpoena, rather than relying on the university's
undertaking to cooperate with the inquiry, because it
understood the documents may be directed related to one of
its terms of reference and it wanted to be sure of getting
them. 

This was not an unusual procedure for parliamentary
inquiries, Mr House said.

UWA vice-chancellor Fay Gale is understood to be overseas.
The subpoena was served on deputy vice-chancellor Alan
Robson, who is understood to have reacted angrily. 

Mr Robson declined comment last night.  Mr House said he
had reports that the university was unhappy about he
committee's approach, but he denied it was heavy-handed.

He did not know whether the documents were obtained from
Professor Gale's office.  He said they come from the
administration centre.  They were not personal files.

"Normally we would just ask them to provide the documents
as they have done before, but with these particular
documents, because they were related so directly to one of
our terms of reference, we just wanted to make sure we got
them all," Mr House said. 

Professor Gale has told the inquiry the university would
cooperate fully but under protest.