N.Z. a 'tea-party civilisation’ — writer

Press, 19 August 1978, Page 23

N.Z. a 'tea-party civilisation’ — writer

NZPA staff correspondent xr _ London New Zealand has been described as a ■ “tea-party civilisation” populated by fervent ecologists and do-it-yourself enthusiasts living three or four years behind the times. In a series of articles in the conservative Parisbased newspaper “Le Figaro,” Beatrice Bazil propagates the popular European image of New Zealand as a transplanted piece of the United Kingdom living largely in a state of happy torpor in quaint wooden houses among scenic wonders. Ms Bazil, whose trip to New Zealand earlier this year was paid for by the Government as part of its regular sponsorship of trips of European journalists, summed up her impressions of her 10-day visit in three feature articles in the newspaper — considered the most important morning paper in France, with a circulation of about 375,000. New Zealanders, “deprived for so long of their native country’s delights, are deriving subtle pleasure from meticulously perpetuating every little aspect of the • lifestyle of the British Isles,” she wrote. “In a state of permanent osmosis with semi-virgin nature, the New Zealanders, who are relaxed, friendly, and not protocolconscious, give constant proof that they are not interested in the great in-

teilectual debates," Ms Bazil said. “All you need to do is spend a short evening before a television set to realise that the best ‘Made in Hollywood’ show won’t keep them up for long. In Wellington, even an important dinner ends at 10 p.m.” The European , visitor had the constant impression of going back in time to rediscover fashions and problems that occupied the Western world three or four years ago. Few people were incited by politics apart from specific issues, and the two main parties disagreed mainly on points of detail, not of philosophy. But not everyone was satisfied with the tranquility. “There are some subtle but incontestable signs that part of the population is beginning to want to dissociate itself from this calm, emotionless life which has so satisfied generations of New Zealanders.” Drunkenness was a problem, drug-taking was increasing, and many educated and skilled people were leaving the country. The tax system was “relatively kind to the richest and tends to crush the average person.” New Zealand’s dependence on E.E.C. markets was greater than cold statistics showed, but the difficulties of transforming the country into an industrial nation — with its

small population and its isolation from world markets — were probably insurmountable. The “market-place” economy mixed uncomfortably with the all-embrac-ing social security system, Ms Bazil said. “It produces a result which is often inefficient because the habit of being totally looked after on the social plane does not encourage people to take a dynamic approach economically, and initiatives are often wanting. “Those who still have faith in the system which for 130 years ensured New Zealand’s prosperity and which turned the country into a model of liberal egalitarianism unique in the developed world, have in the main been able to ascertain the country’s ills. Will they be able to adapt to the new conditions that have stemmed from the economic upheavals of the world? “For years New Zealanders lived without too much concern for their future — happy and proud to have built, at the other end of the world, a little paradise in which everyone could live free from want,” Ms Bazil said. “At present, new cultural, social, and especially economic problems are forcing them to worry about their future. “And the country is undergoing an identity crisis which will certainly not be easily solved.”