Campaign opening 'lacks hard facts’

Press, 28 July 1987, Page 9

Campaign opening 'lacks hard facts’

By

BRENDON BURNS,

political reporter

The Prime Minister’s campaign opening presented no new policies and did not defend the Government’s record, said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, after last evening’s televised address.

“It was a rambling speech. It had no hard facts in it. There was no defence at all of Rogernomics which is fascinating in itself,” said Mr Bolger.

It had made no mention of record inflation and interest rates, lack of 'investment, overseas debt and decline in agriculture and manufacturing.

“You would almost believe he had not been Prime Minister for the last three years. That none of the crises in New Zealand had anything to do with him.”

Mr Bolger Said much of Mr Lange’s speech was spent on education, including the reference to spending more money. “But it’s only a month ago that he and his Minis-

ter of Finance were talking about ‘uSer-pays’ in education.”

He said that with less than three weeks to election day, Labour had only released a handful of policies and no manifesto. “What the public are being asked to buy is a pig in a poke. The Government simply refuses to give people a n y -

thing new to vote on and they won’t defend the

past.” Mr Bolger said the most significant point of Labour’s campaign opening was that three years ago on the same platform, Mr Lange had pledged a commitment to jobs for all New Zealanders.

“Today he glossed over it in about a minute and a half and no New Zealander that is unemployed could feel they are going to get a job at the end of this three years."