Mr Rowling stirs ‘Family Rally’

Press, 23 November 1981, Page 6

Mr Rowling stirs ‘Family Rally’

A crowd of 3000 accorded the leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) a standing ovation at Woolston Park yesterday after he pledged to reach oui and unite New Zealand "after six years of division." A Labour government and New Zealanders would be building not destroying because "we are a nation of builders." Mr Rowling told the Family Rally audience. The National Government's “divisive" leadership had cost the country dearly in many areas, said Mr Rowling.’ Bad economic.management had "wasted” the lives of more than. 250.000 New Zealanders who were on the dole or not profitably employed. Mr Rowling said that the Government had. produced no manifesto, no policies to combat this “waste,” and was asking New Zealand for a blank cheque.

The social costs were seen by the "savaging" of the education and health services and the many New Zealanders who’ had fled overseas could no longer "walk tall" as they could six or eight years ago.

"Some oi them are having to call themselves Australians to get away with it." said Mr Rowling. Labour's carefully researched and costed fiveyear development plan offered “opportunities and a better life' for New Zealanders.” That included the right of everyone to work and take home enough of their .weekly wages to support their family; incentives to the workers and rewards for work well done; the right to grow up in families and a decent'community: the right of young people to develop their lives to the fullest potential: and the right of the elderly to the dignity and comfort they had earned. Labour would restore small business confidence, bring back a balanced investment programme where the results would be seen in 1982, not 1990, and give the control of the country’s wealth ' to New Zealanders, not foreign interests, he said. “Those on the land, in the forests, in the fishing industry, in tourism, and small businesses will know that they can get cracking with confidence because they will

not be looking at pie in the sky policies,” Mr Rowling said.

“We won’t try to say that because school rolls are falling we will put teachers on the dole," said Mr Rowling. Labour would take the chance to have smaller primary school classes, more teachers doing remedial work, and more teachers working on adult education in the community. Most important, a Labour government would protect the future of families, he said. Families were being torn apart because members could not get jobs or had to go overseas. Mothers were trying to keep their households together with a dollar that was shrinking by the day. After his short speech, Mr Rowling talked with members of the crowd, made up mostly of family groups. In a touch of novelty, Mr and Mrs Rowling arrived by horsedrawn cart,, although they had to make several impromptu trips round the field because the five Christchurch Labour members of Parliament at the rally were still speaking.