P.M. says economy main issue of 1986

Press, 24 December 1985, Page 4

P.M. says economy main issue of 1986

By

TIM DONOGHUE,

NZPA political reporter Wellington The convicted Rainbow Warrior bombers, Captain Dominique Prieur and Major Alain Mafart, are unlikely to receive a Christmas card from the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, this year.

A tongue-in-cheek sympathy note is not entirely impossible, however, as the French couple loosen their belts in anticipation of their first New Zealand Christmas dinner behind bars.

Mr Lange, in an end-of-year interview with the Press Association, said he sympathised with Mafart and Prieur to the extent that another 10 or 12 Frenchmen should be sharing their cells. Y ‘One has sympathy for seeing two people in jail while others are... in France,” Mr Lange said. “If you are the Fagan that sent someone to 'shoplift, Fagan is just as guilty as the boy that did the theft,” he said. . In spite of the Ouvea crew and others escaping the police net, Mr Lange looks back on the Government’s handling of the lim-

pet-mine bombing with satisfaction.

After the July 10 blasts, in which a photographer, Fernando Pereira, died, his comments and those of Detective Superintendent Allan Galbraith came under intense scrutiny by defence interests until November 4 when Mafart and Prieur pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the High Court at Auckland.

Mr Lange said the defence interests, who would have moved to have the charges dismissed if he or Mr Galbraith had put their “foot or mouth in it,” scrutinised every word, nuance, and shoulder shrug. It was now important that reparation talks be concluded before the election in France next year so that the relationship between the two countries could return to normal.

Mr Lange disagreed with a suggestion that foreign policy issues, including the Rainbow Warrior bombing, the A.N.Z.U.S. rift, and the High Court decision preventing the All Blacks touring South Africa had been the main preoccupation of his Government in 1985. “The major preoccupation

of the Government has been to get the conviction that we are on a resolute economic course,” he said.

New Zealand’s standing in international terms had risen during 1985.

“I think the mark of that was on the fortieth anniversary in New York (of the United Nations on October 24) when New Zealand was the only non-great power to be invited to speak at the commemoration,” Mr Lange said.

Other countries represented on the speaker’s rostrum that day were India and the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United States, Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union.

“We were a total anomaly that day,” Mr Lange said. Commenting on gA.N.Z.U.S., something he did extensively at his biweekly 1985 press conferences, the Prime Minister said he expected the United States to announce a formal defence review once the Government’s anti-nuclear legislation was enacted. “But they will also, it seems, say A.N.Z.U.S. will remain in place and they will not themselves with-

draw from it.” He said 1986 would see a settling down of the A.N.Z.U.S. problem, which began in earnest when the Government ruled out the visit by the U.S.S. Buchanan in February. He ruled out the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle to coincide with the new appointments of Ministers of Disarmament and Conservation in 1986.

“We’re not going to have a Cabinet reshuffle... what we’ve got to do is appoint a Minister of Conservation fairly early in the year.” Mr Lange said the Government would appoint its new Minister of Disarmament about the middle of 1986 to coincide with the enactment of the antinuclear legislation. He dismissed speculation that there would be a snap election next year — the Government intended to serve its term, he said. Electoral legislation would allow a September, 1987, election to be followed by another in November, 1990.

“That would get it all back into kilter (following the July 14, 1984 election). That’sfthe way Pm thinking

now,” he said. With the tape-recorder on and the “geriatric generals” comment in his mind, Mr Lange was reluctant to discuss embarrassments of 1985 such as the Post Office home loan affair and Labour’s Timaru by-election loss.

Instead, he preferred to elaborate on the disarray of the Opposition. Mr Lange said the possible elevation of Mr Jim Bolger (Nat, King Country) to the leadership held no fears for Labour. “We’ve worked on the theory Bolger only needs to be exposed longer and he will start to show his weaknesses,” he said.

“He has now shown that he is incapable of judging a situation. The people he picks for his lieutenants are almost hilariously inept. When it comes to the crunch, he has not got the capacity to move forward.” Mr Lange said that Mr Bolger, following the unsuccessful coup attempt on the Leader of the Opposition, Mr McLay, seemed to be incredibly obsessed with self justification.

‘lf he assumes the leadership then the party is jg its

terminal stage because he is now categorised on the country Right,” he said. “It’s perfectly apparent now that that will not be acceptable to a huge chunk of the Parliamentary National Party. “We also know that Mr McLay is unacceptable to a great chunk of the country Right in his present r01e... and has alienated his urban liberal vote.

“He is now, of course, in the eyes of both camps untrustworthy. So who else is going to come forward. It does not matter all that much,” Mr Lange said. Mr Lange agreed with the Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, that changes needed to be made to New Zealand’s wage fixing system in 1986.

New Zealanders could expect changes also in social welfare and health spending. . Referring to the tightrelativity national award system, Mr Lange said the 1985-86 wage round had so far been a case of blind!. following the secretary of the Electrical Workers’ Union, Mr Tony Neary’s 15.5 per cent trendsetting agreement

“What I’d like to see more than anything is people not limited to a blind figure,” he said. Mr Lange said there were some areas where the need for an increase was manifest and the capacity to pay obvious. “Cleaners of the rooms in the tourism industry deserve more than what they get” 7 He criticised the State sector for automatically expecting flow-ons. “I just resent the totally automatic assumptions of inevitable increases in areas where you are not necessarily accountable,” he said. Mr Lange was quick to dismiss questions about his weight and greying hair by

saying he had a lot less grey hair than Mr McLay, who was younger than him. He castigated a Sunday newspaper for publishing a photograph showing his expanding waistline. He asserted it was a “set-up.” “I feel fine,” he said. But 1985 , did have its lighter side for Mr Lange. Such as the time he and the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Palmer, were booked on the same flight Again tongue in cheek, he said Air New Zealand had rung the Government’s third-ranked Minister, the Minister of Overseas Trade, Mr Moore, who readily gave his permission for his superiors to travel together.