Speaking To Candidates

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32145, 14 November 1969, Page 14

Speaking To Candidates

by

K. D. Coates

T. M Huggins

Soc. Credit Lyttelton ,

Thirty-one-year-old Mr T. M. Huggins. Social Credit candidate for Lyttelton, believes there should be more young people in Parliament, and he has a nonparty representation scheme to get them there.

His idea is to give young people of high ability a chance to govern the country, and to gain the necessary experience for the sort of enlightened and dynamic leadership he considers the country badly r needs. Born in Essex, Mr Huggins has been in New Zealand since he was 17. He is the manager of a specialist division of a glass firm, is married with four children and lives in Papanui. He is far from being a starry-eyed Social Credit idealist, and does not agree that the league’s monetary policy’ is a panacea for all ills.

He does see it, however, as a way of using financial resources more effectively, of freeing industry, using resources to better effect anc providing incentives. "If people are up to their necks in debt that is no incentive.” he said. “Banks are allowed to create money at present, and this should not be so.” Asked why he became interested in Social Credit Mr Huggins said he had always been interested in what was going on politically.

“I can see there are not enough young people in politics, and Social Credit is a party with a new approach,” he said. “I did not want to be bound to any particular dogma and Social Credit has a plank where it says it values the individual contribution of every candidate. “Mind you. the financial policy is moving in the right direction. You have to do something before you entirely know the result, and while I believe in the policy, you have to put this sort of thing into action before you see how it works. But the main thing is that it is a planned approach to the economy.” Mr Huggins believes the present political system is too inflexible—it is too party-orientated and the people do not really feel they are represented in Parliament. Members of Parliament tend to conform to the idea prevailing in their parties. He says he has been a member of the Social Credit League for two years, although he looked at the philosophy some years ago—in 1958-59.

What is needed, Mr Huggins contends, is a non-party system in Parliament by which specifically young people, say below the age of 30, would be represented. He says he realised that many under this age are not fully mature or fully constructive, but feels that such a scheme would be a channel to utilise their ability and give them the experience needed for leadership.

The country could be divided up into 16 regions and another representative could be elected for each of the four main centres, giving 20 members of Parliament with rights equal to all those elected through the party system. “Let's face it, the members of Parliament we have now don’t make a great contribution and there are a lot of young men with ability who could not only make a good contribution, but could also become leaders,” he said.

Mr Huggins says people to whom he has outlined his scheme consider it is good: people today want more young people in politics. He contends, too. that this sort of scheme would give them a channel for their expression so they could become independent enough to think and mature individually. At present, due to apathy, young people are not playing a big enough part in business, or in the community. With the present system of government representation, Mr Huggins says, personal conflicts obscure the real issues. The need for effective leadership has been overlooked by government. One of the main reasons for social problems, he says, is because people are not entirely happy with the system to which they have to conform. The basis of social and economic problems needs tackling, and the Government needs to look closely at the breakdown in family life and the lack of purpose in many lives. If there is effective leadership, Mr Huggins’ says, people will have a sense of purpose and involvement. 1 asked Mr Huggins about the leadership of his own party, and the point at which it is likely to become the Government: “As soon as Social Credit can prove it has got effective leadership and effective solutions then it will become the Government” he said.

He sees leadership at this stage not in terms of one man and said Mr Cracknell had laid a foundation on which it was up to the rest of Social Crediters to build.

He said that if the Social Credit leader had been an outstanding leader, compared with the other two, then he might have made a greater impact. But at the same time, he did not have the same strong backing as the leaders of the two main parties. Mr Huggins was at pains to make it clear he was not criticising Mr Cracknell.

1 asked him how he would define ideal leadership: “To be a real leader,” he said, “a man must come from the people; he must have sufficient awareness of their needs to be able to help them make a better and vigorous society.” He said Mr Holyoake’s speech when he opened his campaign was not the sort of thing people wanted to hear—they wanted facts, constructive thinking and ideas. Mr Huggins came to New Zealand under an immigration scheme and has worked for the Lands and Survey and Education Departments as well as on a farm at Pleasant Point, before coming to Christchurch. He says he is a good chess player. As to his candidacy, he takes the view that no matter what the odds are, it is up to the individual to overcome them. He says he is not a Social Credit candidate because it is an easy way into politics, but he does feel he can make a greater contribution there than in either of the other two parties. “Besides, at my age, it might take two or three elections to make progress, and I will still he relatively young.”