Labour attacks Mr McLay

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 4

Labour attacks Mr McLay

by

MICHAEL HANNAH

in Wellington

The Acting Prime Minister, Mr McLay, has been accused of “incompetence” and “foolishness” by the Leader of the Oppositon, Mr Lange, for his handling of his new role.

Mr McLay was “keen to overjustify himself, and in doing so dropped himself and everyone else in it," said Mr Lange yesterday. Mr Lange indicated that Mr McLay, would be the target for some of Labour’s early attacks in a plan to destroy the “myth of competence” in the Government when the Parliamentary

session begins on May 31. Mr Lange particularly attacked Mr McLay’s handling of three issues involving other Cabinet Ministers. In one, Mr McLay had to correct a statement in which he said he had received an assurance from the Minister of Police, Mr Couch, that he had not made a statement that the Minister of Customs, Mr Allen, had been drinking wine and ginger ale the night he was allegedly attacked. In a second episode, Mr McLay had had to correct another “assurance” given by the Minister of Education, Mr Wellington, that he was not aware that legal

action had been threatened against his vetoing of the release of a computer report. In the third episode, Mr Lange said that Mr McLay had asserted that he was aware of the date that the French proposed to stop nuclear testing at Mururoa, when the French had denied this, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Cooper, was not aware of the date. “I believe that we have established in this last week the base for so attacking the Government,” Mr Lange said.

“The people of New Zealand used to rely on this Government to tell them

how it was. It was one of their proudest boasts. This last week has been a measure of complete failure on that,” he said. Even the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, came in for special mention, and Mr Lange said he would personally handle criticism of Sir Robert in Parliament.

He pointed to the downgrading of a “new Bretton Woods” conference, proposed by Sir Robert, to a “ginger group” in the last few days, and said this would prevent Sir Robert using an international conference for “Prime Ministerial grandstanding” before the General Election.