$2.3B deficit claim rejected

Press, 15 April 1986, Page 9

$2.3B deficit claim rejected

Wellington reporter

The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, dismissed yesterday Opposition assertions that the fiscal deficit for the year just ended could

be as high as $2.3 billion. Mr Lange told reporters that the Cabinet had a preliminary figure for the deficit, but he refused to say when it would be released. A Government source said later the figure might be made public late this week.

The Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, announced last month the deficit would be a least $2 billion, after the March tax take turned out to be lower than the Treasury forecast.

Mr Douglas had previously given predictions that it would be $1.3 billion, $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion.

Mr Lange indicated the final figure would be less than $2.3 billion, and said, “I think Mr Bolger will be made to squirm on that prophecy.” The Opposition’s finance spokesman, Mr Gair, repeated the assertion yesterday, and said that when allowance was made for the one-off cost of the devaluation of the dollar in July, 1984, the

last 12 months of Mr Douglas’ administration would prove to have made no improvement on the deficit since the previous year. Mr Gair said it had become increasingly obvious that the Government wanted to hide the true size of the deficit “blowout.”

The Government had lost credibility by “ducking and dodging” on the issue, and would lose more when the final figure was released, Mr Gair said.