Eyes on Tasman

Press, 5 November 1977, Page 2

Eyes on Tasman

PA Nelson The National Party has called nominations for a candidate for the Tasman electorate, according to, the president of the National Party (Mr G. A. Chapman) yesterday. The Tasman seat is held by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) Mr Chapman said the National Party saw Tasman as one of the most marginal seats in New Zealand because of the marginal nature of the seat in 1975. Recent boundary changes “which had been advantageous to the National Party,” the growing strength of the party organisation in the electorate, and the “declining support for Mr Rowling. “In addition, our prospects are considerably strengthened by the fact that Mi Rowling continues to lag far behind the leader of the National Party in the publicopinion polls,” Mr Chapman said.

“Whistling in the dark” was how Mr Rowling described Mr Chapman’s statement.

“Mr Chapman has been in the habit lately of making statements about Tasman and its member of Parliament, and has been consistent only in one thing — that he is always wrong,” said Mr Rowling. “His most recent effort

was the statement that I would be moving to the West Coast electorate. This was, of course, completely false, as even Mr Chapman should have known.

“He has now given away making positive statements and has gone back ,to suggestions,” Mr Rowling said. “This is probably because he is once again using the statements he made in 1972. His prediction for 1978 will be equally wrong. Mr Chapman said that in the 1975 General Election, Mr Rowling, then Prime Minister survived with a majority of only 529. Since then, boundary changes had further reduced Labour’s paper majority. “I believe his position as leader of the party, which id

in total disarray and which through weak leadership has reverted to the old socialist principles, has undermined his traditional support,” said Mr Chapman. “All these factors encourage us to mount a full-scale campaign lasting a whole year, compared with only five months in 1975. “I have in the past publicly warned the Labour Party of the risk it takes in leaving its leader exposed in a marginal seat,” Mr Chapman said. “If the Labour Party is genuine about retaining Mr Rowiing as leader, which at present seems in doubt, I strongly advise it to move him to a safer seat, as the late Mr Kirk moved from Lyttelton to Sydenham in 1969.

“If Labour insists on leaving Mr Rowling at risk, we are quite prepared to fight on that basis,” Said Mr Chapman. Nominations for a National candidate open today and will close on November 18. A pre-selection meeting will take place on November 28, with the final selection on December 10.

Commenting on the dates, Mr Rowling said: “In 1972, National selected its candidate at an even earlier date than is proposed for this election. It clearly did not do it any good then and there is no prospect of its assisting its lost cause on this occasion.”