Less emotion at National conference

Press, 26 July 1976, Page 2

Less emotion at National conference

Staff reporter Rotorua Delegates at the annual conference of the National Party in Rotorua are displaying a thoughtful, forwardlooking attitude charged only a little with the emotion on key issues which characterised last year’s conference. This was shown in the discussion that preceded the rejection of three of the remits discussed bv the full conference, It appears that most delegates, realising that their party is now the decisionmaker, are prepared to give the political branch a general view. The first casualty of this attitude was a remit from the Papanui branch that the drinking age remain at 20, but that the responsibility for proof of age be transferred entirely from the hotel staff to the drinker. The chances of the original remit were affected by an amendment calling for the reduction of the legal drinking age to 18. Mr G. Sugden (Papanui) said that barmen were placed in an impossible position in having to identify under-age drinkers. In the event of a prosecution, the illegal drinker was fined $l5, but the barman was liable to a fine of $2OO. Eighteen-year-olds were in hotels now, but he believed that a further lowering of the legal age would mean there were no laws at all. Mr S. Pearson (Auckland), who moved the amendment, said that the present rule was widely ignored. After this, the discussion largely moved to the admission of 18-year-olds to bars. Both remit and amendment were lost. A similar fate befell a Waikato remit asking that the Broadcasting Council select better programmes for family viewing, and reduce the number of programmes featuring violence and sensationalism. Surprisingly, a remit by Dunedin that the Government acknowledge that the replacement of railcar services with

buses is merely temporary, and that it should undertake to reintroduce “suitable rail services" on the affected routes brought little discussion. The view of some delegates was that it was so loosely worded as to be of doubtful value. Considerable emotion attended the presentation by the Wellington women’s section of a remit drawing attention to the fact that in a rape case the victim’s past is open to inspection and that of the accused is not. Eventual!’; this remit was accepted in the form of a recommendation that the relevant part of the male’s history should be placed before the jury. A Pakuranga-Eden remit asking the Government to amend the Shops and Offices Act to permit Saturday trading was fittinglv accepted on Saturday morning. The conference was roused to some heat on the presentation of two remits on law and order. One, moved by North Shore, called for the reintroduction of thd birch for “acts of criminal violence such as rape, bashings, and gang violence.” The second merely asked that the penalty for vicious physical assault should be more severe. The birching remit was lost and the milder one was carried. After this the full conference settled down to a wellinformed discussion on nuclear power. The Wellington women’s section asked that the Government be urged to make an over-all and integrated appraisal of all forms of energy before giving further consideration to nuclear power. Delegates accepted this remit. It was agreed that the urgency of the completion of the appraisal should be emphasised.