P.M. refuses to meet farmers

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 2

P.M. refuses to meet farmers

Wellington reporter The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, scrapped a meeting with farmers at Kaikohe, in Northland, yesterday because of the mobbing of his car by angry farmers at Invermay, near Dunedin, earlier in the week. Mr Lange had been due to meet representatives of Federated Farmers at Kaikohe where a protest rally against the impact of Government economic policies was also to be held. “Delegations allied to protest rallies inevitably get out of hand,” Mr

Lange said yesterday. He said he was convinced the problems of the rural sector could not be solved by confrontation and the rally planned for Kaikohe would "only escalate tensions.” Mr Lange had discussed the cancellation of the meeting with the president of Federated Farmers, Mr Peter Elworthy, on Thursday, and Mr Elworthy had taken it up with the Kaikohe delegation. A member of the Prime Minister’s advisory group, Mr John Bayley, would, however, meet the group “away from the protest

activity and at a different time,” Mr Lange said. The Prime Minister said he had had a constructive meeting with a fanners’ delegation at Napier recently without a rally at the same time. He referred yesterday to the Invermay rally as “large and violent” Mr Lange cut short his speech to open the Invermay Agricultural Research Centre after the previous speaker had attacked the Government and his car was surrounded by some of the 2000 farmers who were holding a protest rally outside the centre.