P.M. accused of ‘bluffing his way’

Press, 20 November 1981, Page 6

P.M. accused of ‘bluffing his way’

NZPA political reporter Tokoroa The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon ) was accused last evening by the leader of the Labour Party (Mr Rowling) of trying to “bluff his way past the election.” The accusation came after Mr Muldoon had admitted yesterday the existence of official reports throwing doubts on key elements of the Government’s growth strategy. Mr Rowling said during an election address that Mr muldoon was surrounded by people who could “protect everything but his memory.” Mr Rowling quoted from an address made by Mr Muldoon at the Christchurch Media Club earlier yesterday when Mr Muldoon had said, “I have built my political career oh the principle of putting the facts before the public and trusting in the common sense of the ordinary New Zealander.” Mr Rowling said that that sounded “pretty good but for the last seven or eight days I have been chasing this char-

acter round the country over some reports on ‘think big’. And for the seven or eight days this man who says he believes in putting the facts before the people of the country denied day after day that those reports even existed. “Then on the eighth day, he rose again and found that they did. Is not that strange?” Mr Rowling said that Mr Muldoon had “no intention” of releasing the reports. “They would expose for all time to the people of New Zealand the absolute fallacy of following his proposition that we can get out of our difficulties by charging up that ‘think big’ road.”

By denying the reports “day after day” Mr Muldoon had destroyed any possibility of political credibility he might have had. Mr Rowling also criticised the National Party for going into the election “seeking a blank cheque” but not setting its policies out in a manifesto. National seemed to think that it had “some divine right to govern.” There was no certainty of

tax relief under National but the Labour Party had proved before that it delivered when it set out to undertake a tssk. * During the last Labour Government, Labour had created 101,000 new jobs, but in the last two years, National had created only 1100. Mr Rowling said, “If our children are to have a chance we are going to need 300,000 new jobs at least in the next decade.” Solving the unemployment problem would be the “top priority of the new Labour Government. We will find the money to do that job in exactly the same way as the second Labour government found the money to ensure that we played our part in defending the freedoms of mankind on the other side of the world. “If we can find the money, which in many ■ cases sent people ,to destruction, surely in the name of God we can find money to give the young people of this country a chance to work-and build and create their own land. It is a matter of work.”