Govt’s mention of treaty dispute ‘insensitive’

Press, 27 February 1986, Page 1

Govt’s mention of treaty dispute ‘insensitive’

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PATRICIA HERBERT,

in Wellington

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr McLay, yesterday accused the Government of insensitivity for including reference to the A.N.Z.U.S. dispute in the Queen’s Speech from the Throne to open Parliament.

“Governments in the past have been particularly careful to ensure that matters of that degree of sensitivity and controversy are not included in the address Her Majesty is asked to deliver,” he said.

The speech is written for the, Queen by the Government of the day and is delivered by her in her capacity as the Queen of New Zealand and on behalf of her New Zealand Ministers.

If she cannot be present, her representative, the Governor-General, reads it. Later, the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, dismissed the accusation as “petty.” The passage Mr McLay objected to referred to the NuclearFree Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Bill which seeks to give legal effect to the ports ban and which is for this reason repugnant to the United States, Australia and Britain.

The speech said the legislation was hot intended to in any way weaken New Zealand’s security alliance with the United. States or Australia but-acknowledged that the “operational character” of A.N.Z.U.S. was now a subject of dispute with Washington.

"When differences arise,'’(lie"soundness of any friendship is revealed by the efforts made to seek a resolution of those differences,” it said, and gave an assurance that New Zealand would adopt “every diplomatic initia-

tive possible to reach a satisfactory settlement.” Mr McLay said this inferred a criticism of both the United States and Australia by suggesting they had not done enough to resolve the impasse. “That is a complete distortion of the facts,” he said.

“It is the New Zealand Government and the New Zealand Government alone that has brought about the A.N.Z.U.S. row. It has. done so with a policy that has been universally criticised in both Australia and the United States.”

He said Mr Lange seemed to be saying that if there was a problem, it was New Zealand’s treaty partners which were at fault.

“In other , words, he is saying that his Government is prepared to foul the nest as much as it likes and when finally the others say the stench is so bad they have got to walk away that they are the ones to blame and not New Zealand,” he said. Mr. McLay suggested that the reference was inappropriate and put the Queen in an awkward position because the British Government, of which she was also head, did not agree with New Zealand’s stance.

That had been made quite clear only this month by the Secretary of Defence Staff for the United Kingdom, Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, he said. ‘

Mr Lange, as is tradi-

tional, handed the Queen the speech just before she delivered it and as she sat on the Throne in the Legislative Council Chamber.

Intended as the Crown’s explanation for the calling of Parliament, it outlined the Government’s legislative programme for the session.

After reading it, the' Queen handed her copy to the Speaker of the House, Dr Wall.

Among the issues the speech canvassed were the Defence Review, New Zealand’s commitment to the stable and peaceful development of the South Pacific, and the Government’s determination to pursue economic policies that would beat inflation and produce sustainable growth and a lasting improvement in living standards.

Last year was described as difficult because of the lifting. of the wage-price freeze and this year was hailed as one of consolidation in health, education, and housing. Other plans specifically mentioned were the encouragement of competition between the State and the private sector in the energy field, this year’s Green Paper on employment, the proposed Royal Commission on social policy, legislation recognising Maori as an official language, a scheme to provide for the registration and discipline of teachers, the establishment of Ministries both for the Environment and Consumer Affairs, and the

setting up of a Conservation Department to protect New Zealand’s natural heritage. Later Mr Lange said Mr McLay’s comments were the sort of “petty criticism that now passes for Opposition in this coiintry,” the Press Association reported. “Oppositions have the choice of being an Opposition or cringing or whingeing.” “He is a cringer and a whinger,” Mr Lange said.

The National Government referred to the same matter in a Speech from the Throne in 1977.

“In 1977 it was all right for the Queen to say that, as long as the National Party submitted the speech,” Mr Lange said.

“When we do the same thing in 1986 the hapless Mr McLay takes exception to it”