Jim Bolger

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 10, 4 August 1987, Page 10

Jim Bolger

The Hon. J.B. (Jim) Bolger was elected Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition on 26 March 1986. Mr Bolger entered Parliament in 1972 as Member of Parliament for King Country, an electorate which he still represents. When the National party was elected to Government in 1975, Mr Bolger was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, to the Minister of Maori Affairs. and to the Minister in Charge of the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation. In 1977 he became Minister of Fisheries and Associate Minister of Agriculture. During this period he was engaged in international negotiations associated with New Zealand's proposal to . declare a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Following the 1978 general election, Mr Bolger was appointed Minister of Labour, a post which he retained until July 1984 when the Labour Government was elected. Mr Bolger was President of the International Labour Organisation in 1983 and has led several New Zealand delegations to international conferences in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. From 1978 to 1981 he was Minister of Immigration. In November 1984 Mr Bolger was elected Deputy Leader of the Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition. He was subsequently elected Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition in March 1986. Mr Bolger was born in 1935 in Taranaki where he

lived until 1965 when he moved to Te Kuiti to farm sheep and cattle and run a Hereford cattle stud. In his youth he played rugby and cricket, and his present interests include fishing and reading. Mr Bolger and his wife Joan have nine children. The family currently lives in Wellington. Jim Bolger: "My message to King Country voters is that this election will determine the shape of New Zealand society into the 21st century. "The central issue in this campaign is that after three years of Labour Government management, New Zealand is in a worse position economically and socially. "After three years the volume of exports from New Zealand has declined, whereas we have borrowed a further $31.5 billion. Our overseas debt ratio is the second worst in the world. To continue with present policies will soon lead to bankruptcy. "National's policies are designed to reduce our inflation rate to that of our trading partners and to bring our interest rates down to 10% or 12%. "New Zealand industry, be it farming or manufacturing, cannot survive under present conditions. "For three years the Finance Minister has told New Zealanders it was going to get better. Instead it has got worse. New Zealand now has its highest inflation rate since records commenced in 1914. "While the economic statistics are frightening, the social cost of the economic failure is even worse. Registered unemployment is at its highest level since the 30s, with 120,000 New Zealanders now looking for work. "The New Zealand community is divided between the few who have made vast fortunes and the majority who are struggling to survive. A recent report suggested that one million New Zealanders are now living around the poverty line. "I am committed to returning New Zealand to a fair society, to heal the divisions and to set New Zealand once again on the road to prosperity. New Zealanders can do better, and must do better. There is no reason why we cannot succeed with sound government policies and honest leadership.