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Salient. Te Ao-Marama. Vol. 37, No. 7. September 11, 1974

The Meeting

The Meeting

Jones inspired the gathering with the mortal words of Maurice Shadbolt: that New Zealand is a land where giants should walk (a category in which Jones evidently places himself). He appealed to history, the courage of our ancestors who took risks in search of land denied them at home.

What this search for land in order to survive has to do with owning more land than one needs, he did not explain. In fact he went on to defend speculators such as Wakefield who viciously deceived and exploited the majority of our courageous ancestors in their search for land. It is such giants, however, who get things done, not the "common plodders".

In the last two years, Jones said, property owners have been vilified and subjected to prejudice and ignorance. They have been targets because they were not organised or militant when the need arose: "Now we're in a position to lash back".

Muldoon devoted most of his speech to denouncing the rabid "socialists" he sees in the Labour Government. With some audacity he invoked "our Maori people" who he said would oppose ownership of all land by "some disembodied State" (as if that is the only alternative to the profiteering marketplace). Not everyone present seemed to delighted to hear his criticism of the Labour Government for allowing the highest price increases in 14 years of houses and building sections, but they all applauded his criticisms of the new Property Law Amendment Bill for not recognising that tenants can evade penalties more easily than can landlords.

Landlords, it seems, dislike both those tenants who leave without saying goodbye and those who refuse to leave when the landlord so orders. It is hard to explain to landlords the alientation of a capitalist society where everyone (rich and poor) is going to screw the best deal for themselves out of whatever situation they are in. Right now they are willing to unite to defend what they see as their interests

This desire for unity is readily exploited by the big land-owners who are making hay out of the present housing shortage. All the lip-service paid to "a place in the sun" for "the ordinary man in the street" represents a calculated attempt by these sharks to hide behind the need felt by everyone for a secure home.

The large land-owners are moving to identify themselves with all New Zealanders who own property or who go into debt up to their ears in order to do so. Their tactics will include their own transit houses (for a few of the people they evict) and some additional mortgage facilities as well as blacklists of tenants and increased use of thugs and the police force to protect their interests. All organisations supporting people's rights to decent housing must be prepared accordingly.