Champs out of their corners again

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 62, 6 August 1974, Page 7

Champs

out of their corners again

The feeling existing between the leader of the Opposition, Mr Muldoon, and the Prime Minister, Mr Kirk, stood out again [after a brief spell of neutralism] when the Minister of Immigration, Mr Colman, announced the decision to allow up to 50 Chinese into the country to work in market gardens. Jf Mr Muldoon's reaetion was intemperate so was Mr Kirk's charge of racialism. It appears there is a shortage of labour in essential market gardens, and it appears that members of both parties were circularised before the decision was made. It also seems that there are two antagonistie groups of market gardeners. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. MAN IN THE MIDDLE The well meaning and hard-working Mr Colman is again the meat in an unsavoury sandwich. Earlier this year he intercepted some public ire about the Tongans. Later still he ran into trouble because of the Government-imposed ban on children from "adyanced" countries being educated at our private schools. Now he is in trouble about the decision on the Chinese. But Mr Kirk has been quickly to his defence. The Chinese have to be single, male, and qualified for the job. They don't have to come from Communist China — there are plenty of Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and elsewhere. If they break their bond, they will go back. CYPRUS FORCE? New Zealanders may rhake their debut as part of a Cyprus peace-keeping force, — if the United Nations decides that such an organisation is necessary to maintain law and order between Cypriots of Greek and Turkish descent on that embattled island. The record of New Zealand police on Cyprus

was very good, but it seems likely that any force to be established there this time would need to be fully military, and with a background sufficiently removed from Mediterranean rivalries. Because of their conduct in other wars, New Zealanders have a good reputation in both Greece and Turkey. The only difficulty seems to be that since then New Zealand has been reoriented to Pacific and SouthEast Asia — but international peace-keeping is something else. SUGAR The promisevof "cheap sugar" made by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Freer, may rank as one of the less judicious statements of the year. The Fijian Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, has stated his views here and in other places, including Singapore; and things seemed to change everywhere he went. He said here clearly enough that his aim was for a higher selling-price for his sugar. New Zealand aid to Fiji, it is plain, cannot be regarded as part of a two-way bargain. The prediction is that sugar prices will be hiked again within two months — and that in the interest of price stabilisation our Government will have to subsidise again. NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS The mystery of New Zealand's apparently "inside" knowledge of France's nuclear explosions on Mururoa seems to be surprising France more . than anyone else. Three times Mr Kirk was able to tell reporters in Wellington that another device had been exploded, and once that there had been a minor blow-back over inhabited areas, before the French Government had informed its own people. The reason for Mr Kirk's prescience tutns out to be very simple. Though non-nuclear in armament, we happen to

have some of the world's top scientists in nuclear detection. This time their talents and equipment have been properly used — to give detailed information far surpassing that of last year (even though we have no frigates on the fringe of the restricted area). t ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES Stumping the country in an attempt to prove that New Zealand'? economic difficulties are largely of the Government's making, Mr Muldqon is achieVing considerable success in manufacturing, business, and import-export circles. He told Canterbury import-export men that import prices affect internal prices in the ratio of one to five. Last year import prices increased only six per cent — which should have pushed domestic prices up by a little over one per cent. Yet the true rise had been about 18 per cent. He is predicting a rise in the consumer-price index of 16 per cent for the full year with a third-quarter rise of more than three pbr cent and a fourth-quarter rise of over four per cent.