Fear for N.Z.’s status
By
OLIVER RIDDELL
at Parliament
New Zealand’s status as an independent nation is at risk, according to the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger. He told a public meeting in Richmond last evening that this situation had arisen as a result of the economic policies the Labour Government had followed for the last four years. There was now no shortage of Jeremiahs who claimed that New Zealand could not stand alone as an independent, nation and had to acknowledge the inevitability of a union with Australia. “I firmly reject that notion,” Mr Bolger said. Superficial arguments might be advanced that there were some benefits, but none were sufficient to compensate for losing the rights to act independently. “I certainly see no joy in New Zealand becoming a more distant Tasmania to be treated with some degree of amusement by mainland Australians,” he said. National’s and his own commitment was to work to develop a successful independent sovereign nation proud of its diverse cultural background and confident of the role it could play in the South Pacific and the wider international community. That goal could be achieved with sound economic policies which were driven by reason rather than extremism. It could be achieved with sound foreign policies that acknowleged New Zealand’s commitment to its traditional Western allies and its responsibilities to its South Pacific neighbours, Mr Bolger said.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19880927.2.19
Bibliographic details
Press, 27 September 1988, Page 2
Word Count
231Fear for N.Z.’s status Press, 27 September 1988, Page 2
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.