Govt agrees to deal; dam work to continue

Press, 14 July 1982, Page 1

Govt agrees to deal; dam work to continue

Press Association and staff reporter

The Government yesterday agreed on a deal with Social Credit which will allow work on the Clyde high dam to go ahead.

The package, which will be made public today, has yet to be agreed to by the Controller and Auditor-General (Mr A. C. Shades), but the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) said yesterday afternoon that the people of Cromwell could “relax and get a good night's sleep." Hundreds of jobs that have been facing the axe are now safe, for the time being at least, and two months of uncertainty over the project have ended. Mr Muldoon awaits final word from Mr Shailes today that the package is acceptable.

Mr Shailes said last evening that he foresaw no problem in giving his approval.

“All the Government has got to do is assure me that it has got the support of the House to pass legislation if it is required," Mr Shailes said. The deal is that Social Credit’s two members of Parliament will support special empowering legislation for a high dam should the legal process now under way produce an unfavourable result for the Government.

Mr Muldoon said that the empowering, legislation the Government’ planned to introduce in Parliament next week would now be held over until it was needed.. “This is where we have to get an undertaking from the Controller and Auditor-Gen-eral that he agrees we have the votes to pass it," he said.

The Social Credit leader (Mr Beetham) would give an assurance in wTiting that he would vote with the legislation if it was needed, Mr Muldoon said. Mr Shailes said that the legal process might extend into next year. This was believed to be a big problem facing the parties as they negotiated the agreement for several hours yesterday. It was uncertain how long Mr Shailes’ jurisdiction could be extended.

However, the AuditorGeneral said that he did not regard it as a problem if the legal process went beyond the Parliamentary session which was to start on Julv 20. "We would like to see it fixed up as soon as possible." he said. But he regarded the Parliament as a three-year one. so if the matter went into next year there was still no obstacle. Mr Beetham said after meeting Mr Muldoon that he had made no significant concessions on the five-point package he suggested to the Government on Monday. Social Credit had sought guarantees on the minimum power price charged to big new industrial users and asked for an immediate start to a new irrigation programme in Central Otago. It also insisted that there be no interference with the normal level of Lake Wanaka and wanted immediate Government approval for financing a feasibility study into the future of the Patea freezing works. It demanded that the Government drop its special empowering legislation, . which would "cut across the course of due process at law," and a guarantee that legal costs of objectors would be met. Asked how he felt about "horse trading" with Social Credit. Mr Muldoon said that he had not had to. “We have still got all our horses," he said. “The points raised by Social Credit were Government policy anyway. Indeed, the power price it asked for happens to be slightly below what we were asking Pechiney for anyway. I think Mr Beetham was quite astonished at that.” The Government was agreeable to making pricing public, although one of the smelter consortium partners was still not happy about that being done, Mr Muldoon said. The Government had not changed its mind about anything. Mr Muldoon said.

"First Social Credit said that it was adamantly opposed to special legislation." he said. "Then it went down to Clyde and saw the light. The scales fell from its eyes." ’ Most of the agreement with Social Credit was already in writing, and Mr Beetham had undertaken to put the rest in writing overnight. The Government could now give Mr Shailes the undertaking he required. "If Mr Shailes accepts the agreement, no dismissal notices need be issued." Mr Muldoon said. "By the time the legal process has finished — it may be March next year — work at Clyde will have progressed to the point where a high dam is already starting to take its place there. “The longer the work on the high dam goes on the less point there will be in the objectors continuing to object." This means that whatever is decided by the Planning Tribunal — due to meet on August 2 — or any subsequent court, the Government has an assured majority in Parliament to overturn a decision if it is unfavourable to the Government. How the Planning Tribunal and courts will react to hearing a matter under that threat will not be known until the time of a hearing. Mr Muldoon said that Labour had “egg all over its face." “It has let its own workers down,” Mr Muldoon said. . Social Credit yesterday accused the Government of creating “a legal and human shambles" in Central Otago through the Clyde dam impasse. Defending the league’s proposals on the dam project, the deputy leader (Mr Knapp) said that he and Mr Beetham were “going to the edge of principle in the name of humanity” over the dam issue.