Southern M.P.s attack Govt

Press, 29 May 1978, Page 2

Southern M.P.s attack Govt

What the M.Ps were saying

From

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY

The Address-in-Reply debate has been well used by South Island members to emphasise ways in which Government policies have worked against South Island residents.

Mr B. G. Barclay (Lab., Christchurch Central) first attacked the lack of longterm planning on energy. Of the Minister of Energy Resources (Mr Gair) he said: “He has been busy running round the country looking for new drilling-spots for oil-wells, varying from one marginal seat to another.

“I hear he has now put the drilling rig into mothballs at a cost of $70,000 a month, because he cannot make up his mind, on the present polls, as to what are the marginal seats.” Mr Barclay said that Mr Gair, when addressing the South Island Promotion Association, was not prepared to give an undertaking that the South Island would receive liquified petroleum gas (L.P.G.) at the same price as that paid by North Island consumers. Mr W. R. Austin (Nat., Awarua): We have it down there now. Mr Barclay: At the same price the North Island pays? Not on your life, Electricity from the south costs North Island consumers the same price as in the south — but there is no such two-way switch in the matter of L.P.G. for the South Island. He also referred to the “savage cuts” in South Island railway services, including the proposal to discard 13 of the 29 weekly services between Christchurch and the West Coast. Later Mr Barclay tried unsuccessfully to adjourn the House to discuss this, as a matter of urgency. “How will these cuts affect the 800 railway workers on the Coast?” Mr Barclay asked. “I took the trouble to attend a GreymoutL meeting on the subject. No National Party member of Parliament was present. The National Party candidate for the West Coast said how sorry he was — but there was nothing he could do. This Government could not care less about the South Island, particularly the West Coast.” Mr Barclay outlined 14 ways in which the Government had handicapped the South Island. Discarding the south

Mr N. J. Kirk (Lab., Sydenham) quoted a statement by the National Party’s chairman (Mr G. A. Chapman), made in Auckland, that greater Auckland had only three fewer electorates (22 as against 25) than the South Island.

“So it seems that even the president of the National Party has given up the South Island in an effort to cling to office at the end of the year,” he said.

f He suggested that National would be lucky to retain three or four South Island members. “The South Island has had enough of Government policies,” Mr Kirk said. As a member of the Petitions Committee, be had received a petition about the withdrawal of the Rangatira. “When the ship was withdrawn, 500 families were affected. As a result of that withdrawal, the member for Lyttelton (Miss C. E. Dewe, Nat.) will'be unable to maintain the seat in November,” he predicted.

Mr Kirk also mentioned a point made by Mr Barclay: “Although the National Government said two years ago that the Lyttelton Health Centre would be opened the following year, this has not eventuated. People in Lyttelton have very little to thank this Government for, because it has sought to exterminate the opportunities in that area.

“Lyttelton was unable to secure the container crane to enable it to compete with Port Chalmers,” said Mr Kirk “One of the far-flung areas of the Lyttelton electorate is the Chatham Islands. I am certain the 600 inhabitants of the Chathams see nothing amusing in having to pay an extra $2O air fare when their children have to travel to and from New Zealand to school." Mr Kirk said that the Government would not reveal the kind of ship which would service the Chathams, as the present one was to be taken off the run. The wharf at Waitangi also needed repair, and this was a Government responsibility. “The Chatham Islands people do not even know whether they will have a shipping -service in 18 months time.” Lack of jobs Mr Kirk asserted that the “bungling” of the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Adam s-Schneider) over N.A.F.T.A. had cost many

(South Islanders their jobs. “In 1977, Lane, Walker, Rudkin decided not to go ahead with a planned Invercargill factory. In May, 1977, Barnett Uniforms, in Christchurch, went into receivership. In August, 1977, Modem Image, of Christchurch, closed. In September, 1977, Port Hills Trading Company, of Christchurch, closed. “In November, 1977, Lane, Walker, Rudkin Hosiery, Christchurch, cut back to a Four-day week. In November, 1977, Suckling Bros, Christchurch, had 200 workers on a four-day week. “When the Labour Prime Minister visted my electorate in 1975, there were 260 persons in the tailoring room at Lane, Walker, Rudkin. Now, there are only 90 in that same room.” Fishery progress A promise that a fourth Labour Government would produce a blueprint for the fishing industry was made by Mr M. F. Courtney (Lab., Nelson). This was the speech in which he asserted that Korean fishing boats were offloading their catches (made in New Zealand waters) into Japanese vessels — a charge which has been disputed. However, Mr Courtney says there is no way in which Korean vessels can be prevented from passing their catches on to the Japanese market. A high-seas transfer is only one of the ways open. He said to the House that nothing could be done about third-country trading. “Last year, some 6000 tons of Hoki (wet-tail) from our waters, was sold to the United States,” Mr Courtney said. “It is our fish the Koreans are selling. How can we compete with that, when the Koreans pay less than 30c an hour in their fish-fac-tories? “Their costs are cheaper all along the line — and they sell to the United States market at $1.67 a kilogram. We cannot meet that.” Mr Courtney said that in New Zealand there was no training programme. Nothing constructive had been done during the last two years — apart from two courses at $2O a week, and the loan of instructors. He warned of the dangers Of rushing into joint ventures with more experienced fishing nations. “Overseas experience has shown that there are nations renowned for entering into ventures which give no benefit at all to the partner. “I am not against joint ventures as such,” Mr Courtney said. “But I believe that a joint venture’ should be on a short-term basis, and that New Zealand should retain the major interest.”