‘N.Z. not committed to National’s think big’

Press, 19 November 1981, Page 6

‘N.Z. not committed to National’s think big’

New Zealand is. not committed to the National Government’s “think big” strategy, the leader of the Social Credit Political League (Mr Beetham) told a public meeting in Christchurch last evening. About 600 people, mostly league supporters, packed the ground floor of the Theatre Royal to hear the address. Mr Beetham said, “There is no way that one sovereign Government can contractually bind its successor.” National’s answer to the problems facing the country was a growth strategy which Mr Beetham described as an “Alice in think big Wonderland.” However, it was not for the school-leavers of today but for the children as yet unborn. Yesterday’s report that the “bottom was falling out of the world aluminium market” indicated that “think big” was in tatters. As an investment relative

to employment, the smelter project was “a disaster.” It would provide one job for every $1 million invested. Government reports which “had just surfaced” showed that New Zealand would, lose from the “think big” projects, said Mr Beetham. Mr Beetham described the Government’s pre-election "handouts” as the marginal seats retention scheme which was activated every three years. But few of the “goodies” went to Christchurch because the area contained no marginal seats. There was a misconception among the public and news media that Social Credit was simply going to “crank the handle and produce, money,” yet the league had never said such la thing. A recent editorial in “The Press” which was critical of Social Credit's financial policies was an “unethical and improper attempt by the writer to influence the voters,” Mr Beetham said.

"That editorial portrayed a complete failure to study the manifesto, the publicly material we put out, or any attempt to become familiar with our policies.” “The writer showed a complete lack of knowledge of the way money comes into existence. This is proved by the now well discredited claim that financial institutions do not print money. They do. The writer of that editorial should be encouraged to take a crash course in life." Credit needed to come into the hands of commerce, industry, and business at a lower rate of interest, and that overdraft money had to stay in their hands longer than at present. Money going to other elements, including all fringe financial institutions, had to be restrained. Social Credit would restimulate traditional industry by “plucking capital out of the area of financial speculation and putting it into production.” Tax subsidies for big business would be “wiped.” Tax concessions would be introduced for small industries and the self-employed, and the direct tax system would be reformed to increase the buying power of the bulk of people. Mr Beetham said that money could be created. "It

always has been and always will be. The argument is for whom and how. National and Labour do it for the State. Social Credit wants to do it for the individual.” He said that the Government was reluctant to say how it financed its internal deficit, which he predicted would exceed $2OOO million next year. “Ultimately the taxpayer pays for it; in the interim it came from borrowing; but in the first instance it .< is covered by a huge overdraft from the Reserve Bank or, to use the Prime Minister’s term, tooth fairy money.” Social Credit’s answer to lessening industrial tension was not through introducing new laws but by encouraging large-scale industries to, introduce worker shareholding schemes. The league’s policy for the South island would cut electricity. charges between 24 per cent and 28 per cent, establish a freight equalisation account for South Island producers, lay a compressed natural gas pipeline across Cook Strait, and reinstate the Lyttelton to Wellington ferry service on a trial basis. Mr Beetham ended his address with an attack on the two-party parliamentary system which he said led ’to outright confrontation and a growth in the power of- the Executive.