The Press MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1975. Power—of, by, and for the Government

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34008, 24 November 1975, Page 16

The Press MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1975. Power—of, by, and for the Government

After two weeks of the General Election campaign one question remains paramount. None of the details of policy can obscure it; no arguments about personalities. about the characters of policital leaders, or the capabilities of prospective Ministers can dispose of it. The question is: How much government must New Zealanders have? It may be phrased in other ways: electors may consider the “ style ” of government, the extent and influence of bureaucracy, the degree of power in the hands of Ministers and of authorities to whom they delegate power. The question prompts a host of lesser considerations about giving more power to local government and statutory boards and committees, and about taxation, and prices, the promotion of some industries and the relegation of others. But in the end, the vital question remains: to what extent do New Zealanders want their lives regulated by the Government and its agents?

For the last three years the Government has been constructing more and more machinery with which to regulate the lives of citizens—their employment, incomes, savings, and superannuation, their education, medical treatment, recreation, sport, transport, and commerce. The arm of government has become longer, stronger, more probing, and capable of infinite interference. Some of this interference is proper enough; as our economy becomes more complicated and as competing goals become more numerous, the demand for Government control is heard more often. As control becomes more sophisticated and more far-reaching the sense of frustration becomes stronger, the voices of protest become louder and, for many, the sense of adventure, enterprise, and even of self-help and the need to help others becomes weaker. Law rules, or is expected to rule, where courtesy and natural concern once sufficed. The demand for Government action is often strong where individual responsibility once served well. But as a society grows larger and more complicated the clock will not be set back on such matters.

Next Saturday’s General Election is fundamentally about whether a greatly enlarged government machine, designed with all kinds of good intentions, will be put into unstoppable motion. The Labour Party has contrived the machinery; obviously it intends to use it and believes in its worth. The electorate, in choosing Parliamentarians and a new government, will determine whether the State machine will grow and become even more entrenched in our society. If electors feel that the time has come to moderate the exercise of power bv the State, they will vote to change the Government. This broad question above all others, is what makes the 1975 General Election a decisive election for New Zealand.