P.M. points to food price record

Press, 26 April 1983, Page 6

P.M. points to food price record

PA Tauranga Food prices would rise less than 1 per cent in the 12 months ending in July, and this would help the National Government remain in office, the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, told party supporters in Tauranga on Saturday. Speaking at a lunch attended by more than 200 party members, Mr Muldoon said that some Parliamentary journalists had decided there was going to be a change in the Government next election.

They had decided this by imagining a scenario for New Zealand that fitted the

election of a Labour Government in Australia, and they then began writing to that scenario.

NotwithstandingNational’s apparent decline in recent opinion polls, there were factors that had not been taken into account, he said. There had been a 0.64 per cent rise in the price of food since the price and wages freeze began nine months ago. “It looks as though food prices will not rise even 1 per cent over the full year of the freeze,” Mr Muldoon said.

Housewives were noting the stability of food prices

and were concluding that the Government could not be bad. He said he had the imRression that throughout few Zealand people were saying: “Rob, you hold these prices steady and that’ll do me.”

This attitude was hitting the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr W. J. Knox, in that there was a hesitancy in union support. Union members were deciding they did not want big wage increases because the extra money would go in tax. Instead they wanted steady jobs, said Mr Muldoon.