Random reminder

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 26

Random reminder

COMMUNITY CHESTNUT

“Silo" Mulch, the wellknown spokesman on farming matters, recently called for the New Zealand Government to abolish the E.E.C. “I cannot understand why the government is dragging it’s feet on this issue,” said Mr Mulch at the press conference he called. “Our farming industry is slowly . being destroyed because we are being "deprived of access to our traditional markets in Britain. That deprivation is cuased by the existence of the E.E.C. Surely all that is required is for the Government to pass an act of the New Zealand Parliament abolishing the E.E.C/-’ A newsman at the conference asked Mr Mulch whether the New Zealand Parliament had the power to abolish the E.E.C. “Well, I can’t answer that,” said Mr Mulch, “I’m a farming spokesman, not a constitutional expert. But surely there’s only one way for us to

find out if we have the power to abolish the E.E.C. and that’s to bloody well try. We won’t get anywhere if we just sit around on our thumbs, too frightened even to give it a go.” It was put to Mr Mulch that, assuming that New Zealand did have the power to abolish- the E.E.C., that she would generate a large amount of ill-will among the constituent nation-members of the Community. "Perhaps we may,” said Mr Mulch, "But what about the ill-will that they generate out here when they lured Britain into the Community in the first place? The British didn’t want to go in you know. They were sucked in by a lot of fask-talking Continentals. We want to save Britain from herself; it’s not just a case of feathering our own farming nests. “We want to restore Britain to her true greatness as a consumer of

New Zealand cheese. If in the process of doing so we give the dagoes a poke in the eye with a burnt stick, so much the better.” “I acknowledge," Mr Mulch went on to say, "that it would be theoretically possible for the E.E.C. nations to ignore the act of our Parliament dissolving their union. But as a matter of ordinary courtesy I would not expect this to happen. And if it did, then I would expect the government to bring economic sanctions to bear. For example we could refuse to sell the E.E.C. the butter and cheese which they are refusing to allow in. That would soon bring them to their knees.” A spokesman for the Minister of Agriculture said later that a cabinet s u b-committee would study Mr Mulch’s proposals and laugh hilariously at them before rejecting them out of hand.