‘Parliament snubbed’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33817, 14 April 1975, Page 18

‘Parliament snubbed’

(N.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON. April 13. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Muldoon) said today that if the Prime Minister (Mr Rowling) intended making any significant announcements on the state of the economy tomorrow, or on Tuesday, to an audience of community leaders, he would be deliberately snubbing the elected representatives of the people by not telling Parliament first. “If the Government has at last found a practical wages policy, a way to increase our sagging export income, a method of cutting the cost or the volume of imports, a source of even more overseas loan money, a source of funds to pay the interest charges on the huge amount it has borrowed already, or a way of reducing the rate of inflation (which has now gone up to 13 2 per cent for the year ended March 31) he should tell Parliament first,” Mr Muldoon said. "It is a curious order of priorities for the Government to talk first with the Federation of Labour, on Thursday, to talk with the country’s newspaper editors on Friday, about 100 so-called community leaders on Monday and Tuesday, and to finally, and belatedly, get round to telling the public and Parliament on Wednesday. “If Mr Rowling has not got any of these answers — and the strong probability is that he has not — then he should not be wasting the time of these expensive and busy men, and a not inconsiderable sum of the taxpayers’ money on an elaborate public relations exercise. If Mr Rowling does not have the answers, but merely wishes to explore the relative popularity of a number of policy options, he should trv them out on Parliament. The weaknesses of one, or all. would soon be exposed,” said Mr Muldoon.