‘Think big’ main election issue

Press, 20 November 1981, Page 1

‘Think big’ main election issue

Growth strategies had emerged as the most important issue in the General Election, the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) told an election rally in the Christchurch Town Hall last evening. He told a near-capacity crowd packed with National supporters that the election had become “a question of a growth strategy and ‘think big,’ or no growth and ‘think small’.” Labour and Social Credit had “finally come round, to fighting, the campaign on National’s grounds.” Mr Muldoon launched an attack on what he described

as the “propaganda” tactics of television journalists. Talk of secret reports which asserted that National’s “think big” strategy would mean a loss to the country was “a load of nonsense,” he said. Mr Muldoon likened the assertion to a small company budgeting for a profit of $lOO,OOO, and making only $BO,OOO. “That means it makes a loss of $20,000 — that is what television tried to sell to the public tonight,” he said. “I get 3000 secret reports each year. They have to be secret because if they were made public, the people who write them would hedge all their bets and not give me frank, straightforward advice.” ' He urged people to ignore red herrings thrown up by the reports and to concentrate on the benefits of “think big.” National’s growth strategy was happening “now” and it had been for six years. Mr Muldoon used a chart to show that under the last Labour government imports went up while exports decreased, and that under National, imports had been kept level while exports had risen by more than 40 per cent. Energy-based projects were only one sector of National’s growth strategy, but they would give a bigger

return year by year than New Zealand’s traditional industries. Overseas earnings from the growth strategy would produce 410,000 jobs over the next 10 years, compared with Labour's plans which Mr Muldoon said would produce 123,000 jobs. Labour criticised National for not producing jobs soon enough, yet Labour would not produce one job immediately, he said. “His.’(Mr Rowling's) concern for . jobs is admirable, but he hasn’t told us-where ..one?-of v these people will work,” he said. Lane Walker Rudkin’s Christchurch plant was used as an example of National’s growth strategy working. With the help of’the Government’s export incentive scheme. Lane Walker Rudkin expected to employ 120 extra staff from export earnings in the June. 1982, year. Mr Muldoon said National was being positive in announcing the growth strategy, in upholding the rights of New Zealanders “as we did during the great sporting controversy," and standing up for New'Zealand overseas. Mr Muldoon had told the police that if there were any reasonable amendments needed to combat violent crimes, a National government would pass them.