N.Z. to abstain from voting on P.L.O.

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 5

N.Z. to abstain from voting on P.L.O.

NZPA correspondent , Hong Kong The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) does not intend to adopt a “all the way with the U.S.A.” stance, unlike Australia, when the International Monetary Fund considers the proposed representation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

This was made clear by Mr 'Muldoon at a press conference after his arrival in Hong Kong at the end of his seven-day State visit to China. Mr Muldoon, who was to attend the I.M.F. and World Bank annual meetings, said New Zealand would abstain from voting on the issue. The abstention was intended to reflect New Zealand’s disenchantment with the “politicising” of the monetary aid by both sides — those opposed, led by the United States, and those in favour, the Third World “Group of 77" nations.

Mr Muldoon, who will lead the representative grouping to w’hich New Zealand and Australia are attached said that over all there were minimal differences between the two countries on the monetary Issues to be discussed. He said he intended that

New Zealand would speak as a “voice of sanity” at the meetings because unless action was taken to solve the problem of huge deficits for non-oil producing middle and low in* come countries it would lead, as it di in Turkey, to political disturbances. “There other countries that are verging on the same thing, Jamaica for example. Brazil is another, and these political disturbances have an impact on the interests of even the United States because Turkey is a very important

country strategically as far as the United States is concerned. “Yet they have had two governments that have fallen over this balance of payments problem and now the military have taken over. Well, that is not the kind of situation that should commend itself to President Carter, in particular.” Mr Muldoon said he believed American policy overall would become much more realistic after the Presidential election, irrespective of who won.