‘Nothing nice’ for electorate

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34129, 15 April 1976, Page 14

‘Nothing nice’ for electorate

(N.Z P A. Staff Crspdt) LONDON, April 14. The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) says he is going to do “nothing nice” for the New Zealand electorate for the whole of his three-year term, according to “The Times” today. "He thinks it will take three years to fulfil ‘negative promises’ — to bring inflation into single figures, deal

with unemployment, close the trade gap, end borrowing, and restart growth,” said Roy Lewis, a special writer for “The Times.” "If this is negative, many Britons will watch with interest and envy the ensuing positive stage of the Muldoon era.” Lewis, who interviewed Mr Muldoon yesterday, described him as “a Prime Minister in the process of turning his country round fast. “The vessel heels as he abruptly terminates subsidies, near-freezes wages, re-

turns public-sector spending to the private sector, encourages banks to bid for savings, slashes State expenditure (financing migrants included), disciplines importers, and waves a big stick at trade union militants.” “New Zealand, in fact, has what it needs—a tough cost accountant at the head of its affairs. His job it to make the books balance, to have an honest audit,” Lewis said. The interview was headed “How Mr Muldoon waved a big stick over the unions.” Lewis refers to the 1948

Economic Stabilisation Act and quotes Mr Muldoon as saying that under the act “You can do anything, provided you can hang your hat on economic stabilisation.” He also cites the Industrial Relations Act, which provides for the deregistration of a union. “Mr Muldoon agrees that this power can only be used against militants who are out of line with mainstream unionist thinking.” Mr Muldoon is quoted as saving: “We have issued a policv at my level: we are not going to permit any trade union to use the fact that it is in a vital area to get pay increases that the general run of unions and employees cannot get.” Lewis says: "This warning has worked; there will be legislation to back it. Fortunately for Mr Muldoon, both New Zealand workers and British immigrants are fed up with militants calling them off their jobs in Clydeside accents.” Lewis quotes Mr Muldoon as saying: “Labour was just too soft. So these people got bigger and bigger in their ability to disrupt.”