‘Socred would not hand over N.Z.’

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 12

‘Socred would not hand over N.Z.’

Social Credit would not hand over New Zealand to foreign countries and industrial “monsters” to suck the country dry. the League's candidate for Lyttelton, Mr Michael Bruce, told an election audience of 100.

The “think big” projects would stifle capital for small and medium sized busineses whereas Social Credit advocated low capital and labour intensive industries particularly in the smaller South Island centres, said Mr Bruce.

Strong regional development and decentralisation would be important under Social Credit. South Island domestic power consumers would get a discount between 24 and 28 per cent, the main trunk line would be electrified and Lyttelton would get its ferry service to Wellington.

Social Credit would en-

courage production of biomass fuels, coal mining and coal products, farming, agriculture, fishing — including fishing at Lyttelton — secondary production and added value products, said Mr Bruce. South Islanders were entitled to the full share of the South Islands natural wealth. Social Credit did not want L.P.G. at Lyttelton and Woolston. Instead, C.N.G. would be piped from Maui because it was far less dangerous and had an extended life.

New Zealand needed a complete revamp of its financial and Parliamentary systems because they worked the people rather than the people working the systems. The obvious result of bad financial systems was the National Government’s budget increase of 44 per cent for next year in unemploy-

ment payments, while asserting that unemployment had peaked, said Mr Bruce. Parliamentary reform required proportional representation so that a minority government would not take office, reduce the power of the Cabinet and executive, and put more of the debate and real decision-making onto the floor of the House, open all committee meetirigs to the public, introduce a code of ethics for members of Parliament, and put stricter controls on the abuse and personal remarks which could be levelled at people in and outside the House. Social Credit's tax reforms. with the 28 per cent flat rate and a luxury tax, would give small businesses leeway to increase production, provide more jobs and therefore increase the tax base and reduce the level of tax to be paid, said Mr Bruce.