N.Z. ‘planning for failure'

Press, 6 November 1978, Page 24

N.Z. ‘planning for failure'

New Zealand was planning' for failure, said the Labour, candidate for Papanui, Mr M. K. Moore, at a public meeting in the electorate. “The wealth of a country is not what you tax, but ! what: you produce,” he said. Money in New Zealand was finding the area of highest return, but was not going towards employing people. “Investment is not going into the areas where it is needed. There is no growth in Christchurch and no growth in New Zealand,” Mr Moore said. If New Zealand was to grow, it would have to plan 10 years ahead — but what

■would happen in the next 10 : years? “Half our unemployed are under 20 — they cannot all be bad. What sort of adults are they going to be? What I I is going to happen to a gen- ! : eration of children born to ■ : parents who have never had the work habit? “These people are going to be resentful, and they are going to be angry. It is no ■wonder that almost 100,000 people have got up and left ■the country,” said Mr Moore. Mr J. A. Walding, candidate for Palmerston North and a former Labour Cabinet Minister, also spoke at the meeting I He said that while Labour

had been the Government, the National Opposition had criticised it for its overseas borrowing. “But the National Government is now borrowing twice as much as the Labour Government: about S6OM per month, whereas we spent only about S2SM under

Labour. “With Labour it was used to keep New Zealanders employed; to keep New Zealand’s productivity up. National borrowing is used to keep the dole queues going, and the country is winding 'down,” Mr Walding said.