Govt has lost people’s trust—Mr McLay

Press, 14 May 1985, Page 8

Govt has lost people’s trust—Mr McLay

National’s campaign for the Timaru by-election was launched last evening under the banner “You Can’t Trust Labour Anymore.” The party’s leader, Mr McLay, unleashed an all-out attack on the Government for breaking promises and deceiving the public. No New Zealander was better off now than they were 10 months ago, he said. The Government had broken promises on superannuation, milk subsidies, prescription medicine, devaluation, defence, and food and electricity prices. “They have lost control of the economy and nobody trusts them any more.” . Labour was treating the by-election as though it was “in the bag.”

“No Government — however big its majority — has the right to take an elector-

ate for granted.” Mr McLay said that in 10 years in Parliament he had never seen such angry correspondence as that complaining about the tax on superannuation. National would return New Zealand to a universal age pension.

Food prices had “gone through the roof’ and inflation would top 16 per cent by the middle of the year. The next food price figure was due to be released the day before the by-election. Mr McLay said that the Government would probably try to stop its release, but they would not get away with it.

Farmers, particularly those in drought areas, were being locked into long-term debts they could not afford. Interest rates were high because the Government

was borrowing too much. The next National Government would bring interest rates down and keep them down by reducing government spending. Mr McLay described the Government’s White Paper on the proposed goods and services tax as 94 pages of bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. “Everything will be taxed, they are even going to tax water ... people won’t wash anymore.” Not all the money from G.S.T. would be used to reduce taxes. Some would be used for social welfare benefits.

“National will oppose any tax that turns good New Zealand wage-earners into social welfare beneficiaries.” The next National Government would return New Zealand to full and active membership of A.N.Z.U.S.

and restore voluntary unionism.

“Under National you will be able to play sport with anyone in the world,” he added.

Mr McLay said that Mr Lange’s busiest employee was his travel agent, but when he became Prime Minister he would spend most of his time in New Zealand. “Television audiences of 40 million and African rent-a-crowds are not going to massage my ego.” National’s candidate for the by-election, Mr Maurice McTigue, said that the Labour Party was philosophically corrupt and losing the confidence of its supporters. He pledged to campaign for growth in South Canterbury and a better deal for agriculture, horticulture and irrigation.