Polls show Govt, economic policies supported—P.M.

Press, 23 August 1983, Page 8

Polls show Govt, economic policies supported —P.M.

PA Wellington The public supported the Government’s policies of intervention in the economy, the Prime Minister said yesterday. Mr Muldoon pointed to recent swings upwards for the Government in public opinion polls, saying, “The public like what we are doing.” Asked at a press conference if he believed the polls showed public support for his interventionist style, Mr Muldoon said: “I would be foolish not to.” “At a time like this when we are in all kinds of economic difficulty, it is a bit unexpected...” “We will be up and down before the election, but what it means is that the public at the appropriate time and given the appropriate policy are prepared to support the National Party and its leader.” Asked if the Government was governing in line with the principles of the National Party, Mr Muldoon said it was “obviously governing in line with the principles of the New Zealand public as of this moment.” Mr Muldoon said the Government was “doing all right” through the wageprice freeze and the moves

to push interest rates down. They were having the required effects. “The public seem to be liking it... why should we change?” Mr Muldoon also said that he had met Reserve Bank and Treasury officials on Friday to consider the forecast record $3.2 billion internal deficit and how it would be financed. “We are ahead of the game already, and I believe we will have no difficulty whatever in financing the deficit for the remainder of the year in an orthodox manner, without undue strain,” he said. “We will not need to do anything on present indications that will cause any disruption to financial markets.” Some retail stocks would be available for part of the time, he said, “but we will not need to move outside what is a reasonable rate of interest.” The latest EyewitnessHeylen poll, conducted on August 6, gave the Government 47 per cent of support to Labour’s 42 per cent. Social Credit on 11 per cent was one point up on the previous poll. The poll, commissioned by television’s “Eyewitness News,” showed Mr Muldoon

to be preferred as leader by 41 per cent, which was a rise from 34 per cent in July. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Lange, slipped from his level of support in July to 23 per cent.

Asked to comment on the poll, Mr Lange said there had been “a considerable amount of party bitterness” in the week before the poll and in such conditions “we always go down.” The public would support Labour “when the party looks to becoming the Government rather than an Opposition obsessed with swapping each other’s seats,” Mr Lange said, referring to the selection of the party president, Mr J. P. Anderton, as a Sydenham candidate to replace Mr N. J. Kirk.

He saw growth in economic confidence as the key to the change in party support. This was caused by Mr Muldoon’s high public profile on economic matters in the two weeks before the poll, including the Budget, calls to reduce interest rates, the National Party conference and Mr Muldoon’s speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce which “painted a picture of economic recovery.” Mr Lange said Mr Muldoon “looked all very purring and gloating” over these latest poll results.

“If he has the conviction that his policies are endorsed by the electorate, let us have an election now.”

“I challenge him to go to the public now. If he doesn’t then he doesn’t believe the polls either. He knows the gains of August 6 have gone.” Mr Lange also thought the demonstrations against the nuclear warship U.S.S. Texas harmed Labour. Such demonstrations he believed always gave a benefit to a government.