Govt attacked for cheap Moans to ‘wealthy friends’

Press, 11 March 1983, Page 2

Govt attacked for cheap Moans to ‘wealthy friends’

’PA Wellington ■. • Rural Bank loans had gone to hobby fanners who could lave borrowed easily from private sources, said Mr Richard Prebble. the labour ;lnember of Parliament for '■ Auckland Central, yester’.day. -; In response to. a defence of ."Rural Bank loans from the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, .<n Wednesday, Mr Prebble ;Jaid that the National Party ' was lending huge sums of ; money at concessional interest rates to “its wealthy friends.” .- The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Lange, said that .revelations by Labour mem’.bers about Rural Bank loans • were all taken from public He was replying to '<Mr Muldoon’s comments ;3about the personal affairs of ■■businessmen being exposed ■'Ey Mr Prebble and another Labour member, Dr Michael Bassett (Te Atatu). Mr Muldoon said that “if this is the line that Lange and his close associates are going to take, any citizen who has any business dealings with a Government agency such as the Rural Bank or the Housing Corporation, if there is a Labour government, can expect to

see his personal affairs on the front page of the newspapers.” Mr Lange told the Press Association yesterday that the details of the loans were all a matter of public record. “Nothing has ever been published which is not kept in a public file at public offfices at public expense.” he said. “The Government requires them to be disclosed." Mr Prebble said that Mr Muldoon could not escape from a statement in the Rural Bank’s report to Parliament last year, that “applicants in a strong financial position, or not dependent on farming or horticulture for their livelihood generally cold not be funded from the Rural Bank and were directed elsewhere,” “We find it interesting’that the,Minister in charge of the Rural Bank, Mr Maclntyre, can report to the National Party caucus in secret about Rural Bank loans, but refuses publicly to defend, or explain, why the National Party is lending huge sums of money at concessional interest rates to its wealthy friends. “The Prime Minister’s bizarre claim that Rural

Bank loans to wealthy businessmen have been the reason for a $4OO million increase in overseas funds makes us wonder whether he really is an accountant,” Mr Prebble said. “If this taxpayers’ money had gone in loans to genuine young farmers, New Zealand could have had a much greater increase in production and those young farmers would still be producing for the country today.” Mr Prebble said that the long-term effect of “lending taxpayers’ money to wealthy businessmen” was an explosion in farm prices. That price explosion had destroyed the hopes of thousands of young New Zealanders, he said. Mr Maclntyre, The Minister of Agriculture, said yesterday that Rural Bank loans to increase livestock numbers and develop land had had a big impact on farming. The livestock incentive scheme introduced in 1976 had seen 13.5 million extra sheep, equivalent to the total sheep population of Marlborough and Canterbury, put on the land, Mr Maclntyre said. The land development loans, introduced in 1978, had

meant that 942,000 hectares, the area of 2536 average-size sheep farms, was destined for development. “When we first introduced the livestock incentive scheme we made it clear that it was intended to assist the farmer in increasing the number of livestock units on his farm,” said Mr MacIntyre. “It was not intended to assist the young farmer on to his first farm. “The results speak for themselves. A total of 17,589 applications have been received since 1976 and by December last year 14,700 had been approved.” Mr Maclntyre said that by December $106.28 million had been paid out, and the total forecast was $126 million. The land development loans had been extremely successful. A Rural Bank survey showed that 72.5 per cent of the development would be finished on time, 18.5 per cent was up to a year late, and 10.6 per cent more than a year late. “Only 1.06 per cent of the area concerned had. been abandoned and this shows that, overwhelmingly, that farmers are maintaining their undertakings.” ;/