A Return to Free Enterprise

Returning to the National Party conference, the remit calls on the Government to act in favour of the free enterprise system; and, therefore, in the interests of the bourgeoisie. So, presuming that the call is heeded, what action is the Government going to take in the near future, and what does it mean for the future of New Zealand.

We must not overlook the fact that this call has come in the time of a protracted economic crisis; a time when economic forces make business much more difficult to operate profitably. In these times, the employing class, and their Governmental representatives, take great pains to protect their interests. Unfortunately for the vast majority of New Zealanders, these steps cannot be in the interests of the working class.

This, I believe, is exactly the interpretation to be placed on the calls from the National Party conference of a week ago. They are calls to the Government to step up its programme of "restructuring' the economy to increase the cuts in education, health and social welfare spending and to cut Government spending overall. This is what is meant by "allocating resources based on market forces": to cut spending to a level which will not hurt business at all. Calling on the Government to reduce regulation and control of industry means allowing the largest companies to grow, merge and create monopolies. The call is to increase competition, but the aim is really to reduce competition within business to create a more stable, but smaller, number of companies.

There is no doubt that Muldoon has been strenuous in his promotion of the interests of the ruling class - but Muldoon is also a man with an eye to the next Election. He knows that the implementation of these policies will meet the resistance of working people and others. Thus his enthusiasm to carry out these policies is tempered. And now the call has come from his own Party to, in effect, disregard opposition and press ahead under full steam.

What specific steps will be taken is not easy to say. The remit, and the discussion of it, was couched in very general terms. In fact, when the Birkenhead delegate who moved the motion was asked on television what specific Government action he wanted to see, the response was an embarrassed silence for a good ten seconds. It was followed by apologetic words to the effect of: "the present situation is bad, and I hope that the Government does something." Clearly, the Party has given the direction, now it is up to the Government to implement it.

As a final point, there was some opposition to the remit during discussion. This may seem surprising, but it arose because some delegates understand that Government spending works both ways. That is. Government money is also chanelled heavily into "private enterprise". To give but one example: Tasman Pulp and Paper in the four years from 1974 to 1977 made profits totalling 32 million dollars. Yet they paid no income tax during this period. Furthermore, 68% of the profit made during the 1977 financial year was made up of export incentives and tax credits, paid out of taxpayers' money. It's nice to know that someone other than dole-bludgers and lazy students receive Government assistance.

Stephen A'Court.