P.M. DISAPPOINTED

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31346, 17 April 1967, Page 1

P.M. DISAPPOINTED

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, April 16.

The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) expressed his disappointment at the swing to Labour in the Fendalton by-election, before leaving Auckland for Washington on Saturday night.

Election night results showed that the Fendalton voters, who have always returned a National Party candidate with a large majority, had given the Labour candidate, Mr B. G. Barclay, a majority of 67.

With at least 900 special votes still to be taken into account, Mr Holyoake said he was confident that the Government would retain the seat

“Naturally, I cannot say I am happy with the election night result,” Mr Holyoake said. “However, there have obviously been heavy abstentions from the poll and this is normal in by-elections. “There is invariably a larger percentage of abstentions on the part of normally Government voters. “This, I consider, could have been increased on this occasion by some measure of reaction to the recent measures taken by the Government to rectify the imbalance in the economy.” The Prime Minister said that the low percentage poll in Fendalton confused the picture.

[ “However, lam entitled to i conclude that if the people ! had been very incensed with i the recent Govrnment econo- ■ mic measures they would i have gone to the poll in larger numbers in order to i register a protest.” The results of the byr elections showed that the Government had lost its manI date from the people, said > the Leader of the Opposition : (Mr Kirk). • He was speaking in ■ Turangi at a meeting of about ■ 100 workers engaged op the Tongariro power project 1 Mr Kirk said the people of I Petone and Fendalton took > an opportunity to speak for the rest of New Zealand. “The message they gave the Government was that it has no mandate for the things it has been doing to the families of this country. It has no mandate to increase costs and reduce production, j to make life more difficult for . the family, or to take more . young people and send them I away as soldiers to Vietnam,” i he said.

Mr Kirk said he was delighted with the result of the Fendalton by-election. “This extreme right wing conservative area, which was regarded as the safest National Party seat in New Zealand only a few short years ago-, has today joined the Labour fold,” he said. “It joined the Labour fold not just because of the Government’s inability, but because the people were convinced of the worth-while policy and constructive alternatives the Labour Party put before the people.”