Tour ‘waste of money’

Press, 24 February 1986, Page 5

Tour ‘waste of money’

The Royal tour is a waste of money, according to the youth wing of the Labour Party. Mr Steven Bright, president of the Labour Youth Council, said yesterday that the Royal tour would squander money better spent on fulfilling the Government’s welfare commitments.

“The dollars spent flying various dignitaries around the country to meet the Queen would be better spent providing assistance to the low paid and the beneficiaries, who are citizens of New Zealand,” he said.

“Instead, this money will be spent entertaining the figurehead of a longdead empire,” he said.

The Government’s commitment to Public Service efficiency raised the question of how efficient it was to interrupt the work of Cabinet Ministers “to run around after the Queen,” he said. Mr Bright also said that New Zealand’s new independence in foreign affairs was a contrast to the “toadying of the previous Administration.”

Young people were being offered a new future by the Government, and did not feel a British Queen had a part to play in this future. “Labour Youth feels the effort being spent on the Queen would be better spent moving towards a republican future,” he said.

The Labour Youth Council had no plans to protect during the present Royal tour, but would try to persuade the rest of the Labour Party that their criticism was valid, Mr Bright said.