‘Desperate bid for office by Labour’

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 6

‘Desperate bid for office by Labour’

NZPA political correspondent Invercargill The Labour leader (Mr Rowling) was accused by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) last evening of dragging out a stream of red herrings in a "desperate bid for office.” Labour was “the something for nothing men, the people that say yes to everything except the one thing that would solve the country’s problems — National’s growth strategy,” Mr Muldoon said. Labour was a party of “abominable no-men” with their leader using every

cliche in the book, “every red herring he can think of.” ' “I believe he is bringing these out to keep the people’s minds off the impossible promises he has been making for months,” Mr Muldoon said. Mr Rowling’s assertion yesterday that the growth strategy would put an extra $llOO to $l2OO million a year on the tax bill was something that as a former Minister of Finance he knew was not true. Mr Muldoon said. The growth strategy would require only a small amount of tax money and would be paid for by foreign investment and by growth.

Mr Muldoon’s second-last meeting of his election campaign was in complete contrast to his rowdy, tense meeting at Dunedin on Tuesday evening.

In Invercargill 900 people packed the Majestic Theatre while about 50 more listened to his speech outside. Only one heckler made himself heard briefly and although the audience -was undemonstrative most of the time, it was warm and good-hum-oured.

In an area where, throughout his campaign, Mr Muldoon has said people under-, stand the Government’s “think big” energy projects because of the Comalco smelter at Tiwai Point, he emphasised the growth strategy all through his meeting.

The smelter was bringing in $25 million in wages which were being spent mainly in the area . . . $25 million on goods and services . . . adding $7B million a year to overseas funds and employing more than 1100 people direct, and almost twice that number in “downstream” jobs. ■

With the completion of the third potline at the smelter, all those. benefits would be considerably increased.