Labour Cabinet members not coherent thinkers — Pope

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 6

Labour Cabinet members not coherent thinkers — Pope

By

BRENDON BURNS

in Wellington

The former Prime Minister’s speechwriter, Ms Margaret Pope, has dismissed the Labour Cabinet as not having coherent thinkers. She also said in two interviews "that Mr Roger Douglas and Miss Ruth Richardson have inseparable policies, and the withdrawal from A.N.Z.U.S. was logical. The interviews chronicle the period from April, 1987, to when Mr Lange resigned as Prime Minister in August, 1989. In April, 1987, Ms Pope was a shy, virtually unknown speechwriter in Mr Lange’s office. Throughout 1988, her name was the subject of Beehive rumour, sometimes politically motivated,, as sources suggested she was influencing Mr Lange. In November, 1989, when Mr Lange announced his separation from his wife, Naomi, the news that he and Ms Pope were to live together emerged. In the interviews she said a letter from Mr Douglas to Mr Lange on April 15 was the start of their difficulties. . Mr Douglas proposed a "radical forwardlooking strategy.” p

Among its elements were immediate tax. cuts with afinal flat tax of 15 per cent; sale of all State commercial enterprises; GST up to 15 per cent, and ; user-pays charges for social services' received by “.uppgrjncome groups. Ms Pope categorised the proposals as the agenda of the “New Right.” Mr Lange first responded publicly to this agenda in the address-in-reply debate after the 1987 Budget. “It was an attack on Ruth Richardson. Which was, in fact, how we used to do it when we wanted to attack Roger Douglas.” She said the policies of the two were inseparable. In late 1987, Mr Douglas unveiled his flattax proposal in a public announcement. Mr Lange canned the package little more than a month later, doubting that it could work. Mr Douglas flew back from London and defended the package. - , “I thought that showed a degree of insubordination that just couldn’t be tolerated,” said Ms Pope. -

“I was.a regular advocate of the dismissal of Roger Douglas.” “But did I ever say at any stage, ‘Look _David,Tf you don’t sack him, I’ll leave you for ever,’ or words to that effect? No. I never did anything like that.” She. left no doubt in the interviews about her view of Mr DOQglas. “It is very hard to make people understand that Douglas, far from being the orthodox Minister of Finance, is in fact an extremist of the most radical and dangerous kind.” She said Mr Douglas was able to sell his policies to the Cabinet by appealing to their better instincts. “They’re not coherent thinkers,” she said. As the Beehive war between the offices of Mr Lange and Mr Douglas intensified in the wake of the dumping of the fiat tax, Ms Pope said the Prime Minister sent a signal. She said he replaced his adept press secretary, Mr Ross Vintner, in February, 1988, with Mr Mervyn Cull, who was not politically

But she said Mr Douglas, and his press secretary, Mr Bevan Burgess, did not stop their efforts. “I found it very difficult. Because I believed that very often Douglas, or people acting for Douglas told lies to journalists. He told outright lies at the time of the speech to the Press Club.” The June speech to the National Press Club arose after what Ms Pope said was a memorandum that stunned Mr Lange. In the memorandum, Mr Douglas said the financial deficit for the following financial year had blown out from a forecast $1 billion to S 3 billion. Mr Lange went public. Mr Douglas responded, first claiming, she said, that there was no blow-out and next claiming it had been resolved by the Cabinet. Mr Lange called for a joint statement, intending to sack Mr Douglas if this was not agreed. A statement was agreed but the interview with Ms Pope suggests Mr Lange from then on was determined to have a Minister of Finance who could be trusted with fiscal figures.

Mr Lange took ill with his heart condition at this time. Ms Pope is said to believe that if Mr Palmer, as acting Prime Minister, had pushed for a more complete review of the Budget projections, the Cabinet would have focused on the fiscal realities. Mr Lange, on returning to his office, was said to have sought the support of the wider Labour Party for his attempt to remove Mr Douglas. The Labour Party’s conference in September, 1988, and Mr Lange’s speech to it was said to be pivotal. Finalising the speech in a Dunedin coffee bar, Ms Pope and Mr Lange were seen by Mr Douglas’s press secretary, Mr Burgess. She believes Mr Burgess spread a rumour that she had fallen out with Mr Lange and gone back to Wellington in a huff. Mr Burgess’s employment contract came up for renewal at the end of 1988. Mr Lange used his right as Prime Minister to block reemployment. It was not anticipated that Mr Douglas would respond to the block by saying Uie

could no longer continue to work with Mr Lange. Mr Douglas was dismissed from the Cabinet. Ms Pope continued part-time work for Mr Lange, including writing most of the speech he gave last Anzac Day. She denied that she wrote the part suggesting withdrawal from the Anzus Council, saying this was decided at a meeting of Mr Lange, the head of his department. Dr John Henderson, and the Ambassador to Washington, Mr Tim Francis. But she said the withdrawal suggestion was logical. “As long as New Zealand stays in the A.N.Z.U.S. Council, the National Party can, and undoubtedly will, reactivate it.” Ms Pope said that Mr Lange told her earlier this year that if Mr Douglas was reelected to the Cabinet, he would resign as Prime Minister. “I didn’t try to dissuade him because I knew he had his mind get on it."