National confident of election win

Press, 29 July 1980, Page 1

National confident of election win

By PHILIP WORTHINGTON The' general euphoria with which National Party delegates embarked on their annual conference in Auckland remained undiminished throughout the four days, in spite of a great deal of solid business and in spite of warnings against over-con-fidence from the party’s president (Mr G. A. Chapman). Although Mr Chapman repeated his warning on several occasions to no obvious effect, he would nevertheless have been

well pleased with the conference. Seldom have the dele* gates and the Parliamentary wing of the party been more at one. The unanimity and good will was obvious and genuine. But then all those at the conference remained convinced that all is well with their world and the 1981 General Election is National’s. In his summation of the conference, Mr Chapman, who was re-elected unanimously for his eighth term, said the delegates now knew that the party was going in the right direction.

Some delegates were mildly critical of the Government’s inaction on remits from previous conferences, but Mr Chapman was not far wrong to suggest that the grass roots of the party are generally content.

Sidelights to the conference surfaced on odd occasions. Lobbying for would-be candidates in the East Coast Bays and Remuera electorates, and an undercurrent of feeling that some of the most senior members of Parliament should now step aside, w’ere among these.

But delegates concentrated mainly on the 65 remits in front of them to set down the priorities of policy as they saw them. One of these remits — dealing with trade with Chile — attracted a rider seeking urgent Government action to establish normal trade and to take all possible steps to support private enterprises which breach or circumvent the Federation of Labour trade ban. By a narrow margin, the conference rejected a call for a 25 per cent domestic power differential for the South Island, and a remit seeking a minimum deter* rent, penal sentence for carrying offensive weapons, and a harsher minimum sentence for the use of such weapons, was lost by a similarly narrow margin. Some of the most heated debate came in a remit calling for the teaching of “Christian ethics” in primary and secondary’ schools which was eventually rejected.

Not surprisingly, delegates had no difficulty in supporting a remit condemning the Socialist Unity Party and “the manner in which .its members are exploiting the trade union movement in attempting to wreck the economy of the country.”

Unanimous support was forthcoming for a remit calling on the Government to improve urgently the transjport system between the I North Island and South Is- ’ land for both passenger traffic and cargo. I The conference also 'adopted a remit wanting all Government departments, l local bodies, and quasi-State authorities to commit themselves to zero-based budgeting. In similar vein was a twopart remit which sought substantial reductions in personal taxation by reduced public sector spending and increased indirect taxation, and urged the Government to shift from direct to indirect taxation “in one swift ■movement rather than im- ! posing a series of selective i and politically damaging sales taxes.”

On two occasions, the Government was rapped on the knuckles over legislation

it has in train. The conference adopted remits calling for the Maternity Leave and Employment Protection Bill to be withdrawn and urged that the management of national parks be left with the present boards and not be transferred to the Lands and Survey Department. Delegates agreed with a move to increase the Parliamentary term from three to four years (but rejected the possibility of its being five years) and the almost traditional remit. calling for the abolition of death duties was resurrected and dutifully adopted. Private enterprise received the expected support in remits calling for increased shifting of services and trading activities from the public sector, dismantling of trade, professional and commercial licensing, and encouraging private enterprise in..energy development. All of this proceeded in a workman-like manner in an atmosphere free from acrimony. So quietly did things proceed that the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that the party had been marking time, instead of fulfilling Mr Chapman’s description of marching forward. Nevertheless the work

done, and much more besides. A series of discussion groups during one session of the conference had delegates and members of Parliament exchanging ideas in an informal, “chatty" way among themselves, which all who participated agreed had been one of the most worthwhile and successful sections of the conference. In a formal light, the set addresses by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon), his deputy (Mr Taiboys) and the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Maclntyre) further cemented the conference’s mood of comradeship and relaxed buoyancy. A general theme of the conference was “realism rather than ■ nostalgia”, an epigram coined by Mr Talboys.. in his speech, but, whatever realities lie ahead, many of the delegates will remember the National Party’s forty-fourth annual conference with nostalgia. It was friendly and goodhumoured. It also had an air usually reserved for conferences held; in the flush of a convincing election victory. For many delegates, Mr Chapman’s warnings notwithstanding, a victory next year is certain ■ and they were quite prepared to enjoy its fruits a little early.