Equal status for Socred ‘not justified’

Press, 15 February 1982, Page 1

Equal status for Socred ‘not justified’

i PA Wellington i Social Credit’s poor eiecI tion showing indicated that I equal news coverage of the three main political parties could no longer be justified, said the Labour Party’s president. Mr J. P. Anderton, yesterday. He said that candidates and organisers at Labour's week-end election debriefing conference had expressed the firm view that it was now the responsibility of press, radio, and televison to "stop treating Social Credit as equal with National and Labour." Labour would ask the Broadcasting Corporation to i review its equal-time policy for political parties. Mr Anderton said. The Labour Party leader (Mr Rowling), speaking after | the conference, said that i public misconceptions about I links between Labour, trade

unions, and the Socialist Unity Party were factors in Labour’s election loss. He said the public must be made to understand that Labour and the trade union movement were both autonomous. "We must make it abundantly clear that Socialist Unity Party influence is something that the Labour Party will not wear," he said. Mr Rowling said that a number of issues,contributed to Labour’s defeat, including the Springbok tour, which had an adverse effect in the provinces. Labour also clearly needed to establish stronger economic credibility. Both Mr-Rowling and Mr Anderton emphasised that it was in the provincial electorates where votes were lost. I Small communities would i be closely scrutinised in the |

future to see how results < could be improved, they said. • The conference, attended I by representatives of 89 electorates. analysed . election results in each seat. j Mr Anderton said that one | of the messages from the conference was the importance of the party's image. I Anything damaging to the image, such as leadership “spats." did not help the party. Mr Anderton said that the i conference had reaffirmed its commitment to Mr Rowling as Leader. 1