Gall for Cabinet changes

Press, 9 May 1983, Page 20

Gall for Cabinet changes

The Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, is again under pressure from elements within the National Party to consider a Cabinet reshuffle. It is not a new phenomenon, but rather an extension of the mood for change that was evident at the party’s dominion conference in July, last year. Delegates to that conference who sought a rejuvenation of the party were thinking mainly of the Parliamentary wing when they made their call. They settled instead for changes in the party hierarchy, most notably the election as president of Mrs Sue Wood, and the inclusion on the party’s policy committee of Mr J. J. Watts, of Wellington, regarded as a representative of urban liberals in the party, and Mr J. Gerard, of Canterbury, who was seen as a rural liberal. The appeasement was temporary and Mrs Wood no doubt reflected a considerable body of opinion within the party when, last February, she made it clear that the party organisation expected the older members of the Government to retire this Parliamentary term. This focused attention on the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Maclntyre, who is aged 67; the Minister of State, Mr Thomson, aged 67; and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Highet, aged 69. To date only Mr Highet has announced his intention not to stand for Parliament at the next General Election.

In the intervening period, two things have happened to disconcert party members and renew the calls for change. The first was the Labour victory across the Tasman, and the second has been the high standing of New Zealand’s Labour Opposition in the public opinion polls. Neither event perturbs Mr Muldoon overmuch. The last poll was taken before it was known how well the freeze on incomes and prices had put a rein on inflation.

Mr Muldoon is confident that the honeymo'on between the public and the new Leader of the Opposition, Mr Lange, will lose its warmth by the end of the year. Nevertheless, his confidence is not fully shared by many within the party and the Government’s narrow majority tends to make them fidget. On Saturday, Mr Watts, who is retiring as the Wellington divisional chairman but remains on the party’s policy committee, voiced this concern and repeated the call for a Cabinet reshuffle. In a National Government, the prerogative to appoint or dismiss Ministers, or allocate portfolios, is the Prime Minister’s alone. Mr Muldoon is thus at liberty to ignore the calls for rejuvenation from the two influential members of the party’s most influential committee, Mrs Wood and Mr Watts. He is not likely to do so. If Mrs Wood and Mr Watts accurately reflect the feeling of the party, Mr Muldoon — who takes pride in being in touch with the man in the street — will be well aware of it. Mr Muldoon, however, is not amenable to compulsion and will pick his own time to move. Mr Muldoon would probably agree with those in the party who say that political advantage can be gained by showing the public what a National Cabinet might look like after the next election. If changes are to be made,

they will have to be made in time to give new Ministers a chance to show their mettle, or the exercise is in danger of being seen by the electorate as nothing more than a cosmetic ploy or a desperation measure. Just when any changes take place — if indeed any do — most probably will hinge on when senior Cabinet Ministers decide to retire from politics or stand again. Until that time, Mr Muldoon is unlikely to do any more than consider the possibilities.