Nats will make Govt battle to defend record

Press, 20 July 1987, Page 3

Nats will make Govt battle to defend record

By

BRENDON BURNS,

political reporter Declaring he would make the Government battle to defend its “record of failure,” the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, yesterday set the tone for his launch of National’s election campaign in Hastings this evening.

Mr Bolger said he would not fight a "dirty” campaign.

“I won’t sling mud but I’ll sling hard evidence of the failure of the Labour Party’s policies,” he said. A central part of the campaign would be the Prime Minister’s failure to honour his commitments, said Mr Bolger He dismissed suggestions that the Government was setting the agenda for the campaign, leaving National to follow. “Nonsense. I see they are growling already about when they are going to open their campaign in relation to ours and for the first time ever they will be opening after

us on television.” Mr Bolger’s opening this evening with a public rally in Hastings will be followed by a televised launch at the Christchurch Town Hall on Sunday afternoon. Labour’s campaign will be opened at the Town Hall the next evening by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange. Mr Bolger said he would have preferred to have his Hastings rally televised but the system allowed the Prime Minister to ensure this did not happen because writs for the election had not yet been issued. But he said his launch this evening would tell New Zealanders they had been treated very badly in the last three years. “We have ended up as the poor country in the developed, world.” Mr Bolger again evoked a theme of possible debt repayment problems, saying that the national debt to gross domestic product ratio was only just behind Chile’s and a little ahead

of the Philippines’ debt ratio. “It is an appalling record. Now what I will do is point out the options for a better Government, better policies, and a brighter future for New Zealand.” Mr Lange has released the itinerary for his threeweek campaign. Mr Bolger has issued details for only the first fortnight of his month-long tour of the hustings. Mr Bolger said that this ■ allowed him more flexibility and there was a strategic advantage in not releasing details. During his first fortnight of visits throughout New Zealand, Mr Bolger, like Mr Lange, will return to Wellington most evenings. This will allow fuller access to the news media. This week, apart from his campaign opening in Hastings, Mr Bolger will visit electorates in Wellington, travel to the highly marginal Labour-held seats of East Cape and Waitaki, and tour Auckland electorates.