Muldoon-Keating talks ‘amicable’

Press, 30 September 1983, Page 1

Muldoon-Keating talks ‘amicable’

From

G. G. SHAND,

in Washington

The Tasman investment stalemate could soon be resolved after “amicable” talks between the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, and the Australian Treasurer, Mr Paul Keating, in Washington yesterday. “I think we may be able to see a solution to it,” Mr Muldoon said after a halfhour meeting which was apparently arranged not only to improve relations between the two Finance Ministers but to dampen the feuding between their respective Treasury teams during the last fortnight of international financial conferences. Mr Muldoon said good progress had been made during the talks. Investment in companies in Australia and New Zealand has been frozen in recent months after a wrangle which broke out over allegedly inflexible Australian rules governing New Zealand company takeovers across the Tasman.

Mr Muldoon said after yesterday’s discussions that there was now clearly some

movement by the Australians and he believed he could now see “a way through it.”

He refused to be more specific on the talks or what the breakthrough formula might be. He could take no further action, he said, until he returned to New Zealand.

“Mr Keating’s attitude was that he wants to get this question settled on an amicable basis — so do we,” said Mr Muldoon. Mr Muldoon said that differences that had arisen between both camps at this week’s International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings had also been largely sorted out. New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, and other smaller nation members of the I.M.F. constituency which also includes Australia, complained earlier this week that Mr Keating, the elective spokesman for the group, had failed properly to represent all their views in private talks on their behalf

at the all-important interim committee meetings earlier this week.

The Australians had also at first refused to allow any reference to Mr Muldoon’s world conference initiative which they had earlier rubbished at the Trinidad Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ conference.

But Mr Muldoon said yesterday Mr Keating had claimed there had been “a misunderstanding” and he had in fact at least at one stage represented the entire views of the Australian constituency.

Asked if he and Mr Keating were now more amicably disposed towards each other, Mr Muldoon said, “I think so. He made the point this is his first meeting (as Australian Treasurer) and as far as the constituency is concerned he wants to do what is proper.”

Journalists shocked, P 3 India’s backing, P 4