Taiboys’ plea 'caterwauling’

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 3

Taiboys’ plea 'caterwauling’

PA Wellington : Tire Government would be' better occupied seeking new! trade outlets than sending; the Deputy Prime Minister! (Mr Taiboys) “caterwauling! round the chanceries of Eur-I ope.” said the Deputy' Leader of the Opposition] (Mr Tizard) in Parliament! yesterday. The Minister of Agricul-! ture (Mr Maclntyre) accused! Mr Tizard of taking a “sour] grapes attitude” for his com-) ment about Mr Taiboys’i visit, at a time when he was) “fighting for New Zealand’s! very existence in the butter! and lamb trade.” The Leader of the Opposi-I tion (Mr Rowling) said it I was deeds, and not words.' that counted. The Prime Minister (Mr! Muldoon) had talked about a) “breakthrough” in trade relations with Japan after his! visit last year, but the only; change a year later was that New Zealand’s beef quota had been cut. “Such was the breakthrough,” Mr Rowling said. The House was debating a Government notice of motion that it acknowledge “the success of the Prime Minister in having inserted into the communique after the O.E.C.D. ministerial meeting language that makes clear that multilateral consultations on trade questions extend to agriculture as

i much as to industrial prob-[ j lems.” j The inclusion of the refer-! ;ence to agriculture was one! iof the many successes Mr; [Muldoon had had overseas,' I said the mover of the mo-j 'tion, the Minister of Fish-1 jeries (Mr Bolger). ; Mr J. L. Hunt (Lab., New .Lynn) interjected: “He’s destroyed New Zealand’s image! ; overseas.” ’ Mr Bolger said the! [O.E.C.D. decision would be a Jong and enduring achieve-1 intent which would be more [important to New Zealand 'than the Glenagles Agree-1 intent on sport and apartheid.) Mr Tizard said that Mr [Muldoon’s “much vaunted [ intervention” had achieved J no more than he himself had 'achieved when he signed the [1974 O.E.C.D. trade pledge. . [ under' which members • agreed not to impose uni- [ lateral restrictions which [would inhibit trade. : Mr Muldoon had achieved t no more than the Minister of Energy Resources (Mr • Gair) who had had the pledge renewed at last year’s i O.E.C.D. meeting. Mr Tizard said the only ■ difference was that. Mr Muldoon had a press staff with him, to “blazon” what he i had done. ; All he had done was to • emphasise “in a cruder, and ■ probably louder, way” what had been done in previous ; years.