Chairmen deny preference

Press, 10 September 1987, Page 1

Chairmen deny preference

National Party chairmen of both the Auckland and Canter-bury-Westland divisions would not admit to a preference for the deputy leadership, saying that it was solely a matter for the caucus. The Canterbury-Westland chairwoman, Mrs Lee Burdon, said her role was to help run the party, and she would support whoever was selected. The Auckland chairman, Dr Ross Armstrong, would not admit to any favouritism. Dr Armstrong had said that his party had come within "a heart-beat of holocaust” on August 15, and he immediately called for a party

able to relate to younger city people. He said last evening that philosophical issues would be vital for the party’s future. But this should not be seen as an endorsement of Miss Richardson — regarded as having a clearer, more-mar-ket philosophy. He said that the gap between the two had been overstated — - a difference in emphasis rather than in basic approaches. Dr Armstrong rejected a report in an Auckland newspaper that the two camps had been up to "dirty tricks.” Although the party took all elections seriously, he doubted whether the tactics were anything more than "goodnatured but hard lobbying.”