P.M. denies rumours about ill health

Press, 6 July 1985, Page 8

P.M. denies rumours about ill health

By

CHRIS PETERS

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney The man in the casual gear strolling through the crowd of passengers on the platform at Sydney’s Grand Central railway station attracted little attention from his fellow travellers. But Mr Lange, the New Zealand Prime Minister and Queensland holiday-maker with a liking for trains, was conspicuous for the small knot of people who met him from the Brisbane overnight limited express. They included the New Zealand Consul-General, a relative, the Sydney stationmaster, and two plain-

clothes Australian detectives who attached themselves to his group — not a doctor or medical man in sight. Protesting his health and brimming with cheerfulness, Mr Lange refuted suggestions that he had been unwell, that he had been in hospital, or that he had planned his Australian trip in a hurry. He said reports in New Zealand allegedly quoting an unidentified Sydney radio station as claiming he had been in hospital this week emanated from political rivals in New Zealand. Mr Lange said he had wanted a quiet holiday in

relative anonymity — had planned it weeks ago — and had had just that. Denying he had had health problems, Mr Lange said, “The stories are spread from New Zealand basically by two political opponents, the member for Tauranga (Mr Winston Peters) and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Bolger),” he said.

“On the suggestion that I suddenly decided to come here — weeks ago I said that I was coming to Australia for a holiday. It was written up in one of the papers, but no one believed it.