Disaster, controversy marred 1988

Press, 28 December 1988, Page 6

Disaster, controversy marred 1988

By

DAVID BROOKS

PA Wellington For the Chinese, 1988 was the Year of the Dragon — the year of calamity and sudden change — and so it was for many New Zealanders. Political upheavals dominated the headlines and when the Government caught a cold, the whole of New Zealand sneezed. At the start of the year a total of 129,431 people were unemployed or in Government training schemes and subsidised jobs. By the end of October, this had increased to 153,668 with forecasts of worse to come. Government departments shed 17,000 jobs in the year to April as a result of corporatisation. Telecom later announced the axing of a further 3000 jobs, the Ministry of Transport 500 and Railways 480. The latter had already lost 2408 jobs in the 12 months to April. Life in the private sector was no better. The clothing workers’ union found itself with 18,000 members this year compared with 30,000 a few years ago. In July, Waitaki International, which lost $97.1 million in the year to October, announced the closing of its Islington and Burnside freezing works resulting in 1670 job losses. The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, was told a total of 15 works would hav| to close as part

of the restructuring of the meat industry, resulting in a loss of a further 8500 jobs. The rural depression reduced the estimated lamb kill for the year to 26 million, 33 per cent down on the 198485 peak of 39 million. Kiwifruit farmers too had a dreadful year with an estimated 25 per cent facing ruin in the face of a disastrous slump in prices.

A positive sign on the economic front was the fall of inflation to 0.8 per cent in the June quarter, the lowest since 1969. Interest rates fell to between 15.5 and 16.5 per cent in July and August, but started to move upwards again in December, threatening to send mortgage rates up once more.

Life was not any easier for people wanting to buy homes with house prices increasing an average 12.2 per cent in the first six months of the year.

Race relations was a hot issue in 1988. A number of Maori tribal land claims were heard by the Waitangi Tribunal and the tribunal’s Muriwhenua report in June found that Maori fishing rights had been usurped through the sale of commercial fishing quotas. The Muriwhenua finding spurred the Commercial Fishermen’s Association president, Bob Martig to start a

petition calling for a debate and referendum on the future of the Treaty of Waitangi. It was presented to Parliament in December with more than 55,000 signatures. After struggling with the fishing issue, the Government decided to hand over 10 per cent of fisheries quotas over four years as well as $lO million to develop a Maori fishing industry. This- would be an interim measure with the final decisions to be made in the courts.

Hana Te Hemara, formerly Hana Jackson, caused a row at a forum at Auckland University in March by saying Maori prisoners should kill a white and become heroes before dying. She later said she was only trying to show the despair of Maori jail inmates.

The Race Relations Conciliator, Wally Hirsh, ruled against numerous complaints against Ms Te Hemara’s remarks, saying the comments were made in a private forum rather than in public. He also criticised “sensationalist” reporting of the incident. * Increasing violence and sexual offences were also in the spotlight during the year. Repeated arson attacks on police homes in Masterton during the early part of the year resulted in 2500 people marching through the town in support of the

police on April 18. Last year’s arsons at Ruatoria resurfaced when a number of buildings and equipment at Matahiia sheep station were destroyed in an attack in early May. The station manager, Jeremy Williams, had previously lost the original homestead to arson on his wedding night. The Commissioner of police, Mr Mai Churches, said there was a widespread bitterness in society and the events in Masterton and Ruatoria had brought New Zealand the closest to social breakdown it had been for many years. The hacking to death by machete of a Tongan, David Fuko, in the Otara town centre on April 30 shocked the country, and gang violence in Wairoa on October 8 resulted in the death of two gang members from shotgun wounds. Armed hold-ups in Auckland became almost epidemic with the “New Zealand Herald” wryly heading one front page with “Today’s Armed Robberies.” Sixteen armed hold-ups took place in three months to mid-October. Violent and sexual abuse of children was highlighted by this year’s Telethon which raised about $6 million, and by a report on the death of a two-year-old child. The report criticised the Department of Social Welfare fqp failing to

act on pleas for help from the child’s mother before she killed the girl.

The long awaited Cartwright report into cervical cancer treatment at National Women’s Hospital was released in August calling for, among other recommendations, a national cervical cancer screening programme.

New Zealand’s heart transplant programme at Green Lane Hospital performed the first two operations late last year. A further three operations were performed in the first half of the year. Tragically, however, the first transplant patient, Brian Lindsay, died on January 5 after a rejection of the new heart.

Cyclone Bola crashed through many northern parts of the North Island in March, hitting East Cape the hardest. Three people drowned in a car trapped on a flooded road near Tolaga Bay. Many farms were wrecked and about 3000 people were evacuated from the Poverty Bay Plains area. Greymouth was hit by the worst flood of the century in May with the commercial area under water and more than 100 families moved from low-lying suburbs. In September the town was hit by a worse flood. A man died after a 7m wall of water crashed down a previously dry creek bed into a mine museum north <Sf! Grevmouth. 4 1