Conservative Note

'Conservatism has become a dirty word in New Zealand politics, dirtier even than socialism." claimed W. F. Gardner in a recent address on "Conservatism in New Zealand Politics" to the Canterbury University Politics Society. Mr. Gardner is a member of C.U.'s History Department.

Right-Wing parties had avoided the term "conservative," preferring "Reform" and later "National. The "Conservative Party" referred to by radical historians such as Professor Sinclair, of Auckland, had never really existed, except as an image created by William Pember Reeves, he said. Reeves had employed the term time and time again as a shrewd device to label his opponents and to create a "devil figure" who looked after the interests of the wealthy and exploited the underdog.

Gardner defined conservatism in New Zealand as a demand for the minimum of taxation and the maximum of freedom It was unhistorical and unprincipled." a "conservatism without tradition" corresponding to New Zealand's "socialism without doctrines." Its cutting edge was taxation policy, which at present formed the frontier between voting Labour and voting National.

Election campaigns, due to the untheoretical nature of New Zealand politics, were either defensive or produced a policy of "marginal gimmicks." This was nothing to worry about, Mr. Gardner considered it was just a reflection of our society.

It was natural at present that the National Party should receive a majority of votes, and the party's strength should rise if affluence in the country increases, he said.