Values ‘regain unity’

Press, 14 April 1980, Page 23

Values ‘regain unity’

PA Auckland The Values Party had regained its unity of purpose and members now had a positive attitude, the president (Dr F. C. March) has said. On the final day of the party conference at Auckland University, Dr March said that .he felt very optimistic about the future of the party. “At the end of last year’s conference I said there were great rifts in the party that had not healed. “The last year has been a difficult one but this conference — with its emphasis on the future — is exactly what we needed,” he said. After the 1978 General Election Values had dropped into a chasm. “But we are out of it now and taking off from there,” Dr March said. People in the party had begun to live with their disagreements. “There has been a maturing of feeling in the party and that is a very healthy situation,” Dr March said. “It is a question now of picking up the pace, walking, and then running.” The party split into two factions at last year’s conference in the wake of the losses suffered during the 1978 election. 5 > At that conference Mrs Margaret Crozier narrowly defeated Mr A. H. Kunowski in the leadership race. Mr Kunowski had led the party during the 1978 election.