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“Battlelines drawn in Rangitikei”

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Description: This image was taken by the Evening Standard, but was not published. It depicts Social Credit party leader Bruce Beetham during a pre-election public meeting at Taikorea Hall. Mr Beetham was standing in the Rangitikei Electorate.

The article “Battlelines drawn in Rangitikei” read:

“THE snap election campaign began last night with the first meeting in the marginal Rangitikei electorate.

The meeting in the Taikorea Hall, attended by 79 people, was planned early last month as a meet-the-candidates meeting.

However, last Thursday's announcement of an election on July 14, meant the two-hour meeting took on greater significance.

Social Credit leader and sitting Member of Parliament Bruce Beetham attended, along with National's candidate Denis Marshall, and Labour's Geoff Walpole.

There was no New Zealand Party candidate present.

The aspiring politicians welcomed the early chance given by the Rangi-Oroua branch of Federated Farmers to take the platform.

Taikorea. the southern-most boundary of the extended Rangitikei electorate, was transferred from the Manawatu electorate after the 1981 election. Then, polling booths in the area recorded high National counts.
And with Social Credit also losing the green and gold Marton township to Waitotara in the same reorganisation, Mr Beetham will be out to reduce the National votes in the Taikorea district.

On the other hand, the National candidate will be wanting to retain the largely dairy and sheep farmer votes, if he wants to restore Rangitikei to the pre-1978 days back in the National Party fold.

Any anti-government feeling there might be in the electorate is unlikely to affect Labour's third place standing of the 1981 election.

Last night Mr Walpole, after drawing shortest straw to speak first, said Labour was offering something different to the country, while Sir Robert Muldoon, in calling the election, had offered voters more of the same.

Labour would introduce consensus politics. He dismissed Social Credit as an ally.

‘Social Credit to us Labour people has been a continual critic we don't see them as an ally.’

Mr Walpole made no apologies for his 1981 Springbok tour protest at the Auckland game when he ran on to Eden Park, picked up the rugby ball and kicked it into the crowd.

He said the incident, which the media had made great play of, was meant to introduce humour into a situation of heightened conflict.

Mr Walpole unsuccessfully stood as an independent for Porirua in the 1981 elections.

He told last night's meeting he was raised in Sir John Marshall's Karori National electorate, and had only been a member of the Labour Party for the past three years. Party for the past three years.

Mr Beetham apologised for his 10-minute late arrival caused by a delayed national telephone conference linkup.

The weary-looking leader said he had had little sleep in the past 48 hours, working on the election. However, he still managed to attack the Government's decision to reduce the Dairy Board's access to 1 percent finance at the Reserve Bank as being ‘hypocritical and senseless’.

‘It is clear the National Government was prepared to desert one of our key industries in order to appease officials in Canberra’.

Mr Beetham explained his party's proposed ‘viable alternative to SMPs’ which would see SMPs replaced with a payment from a levy on foreign exchange.

‘The levy would go into а fund from which payments to farmers would make up any shortfall between the auction or market price of wool, meat and other farm products, and a guaranteed price would be paid from this fund’.

Payments would be made through the marketing boards, who calculated and pay the SMPs.

On ridding New Zealand of its huge trade imbalance, Mr Beetham suggested the Government pursue further counterbalance trading schemes similar to that between the Meat Producers' Board (with lamb swapped for Polish heavy engineering equipment).

National candidate, Marton businessman Denis Marshall, defended the Government's policies and attacked those of Social Credit and Labour.

National had controlled inflation and lowered interest rates. Social Credit policy was highly inflationary, and Labour had no policy to economic recovery.

‘They both will spend taxpayers’ money to promote more state intervention, less competition. less freedom, and less money in your pocket’.

He said he was concerned about rural services. Telephone, mail, and medical services were often inadequate.

Low inflation, low interest rates and a competitive economy were needed for farming to prosper in a competitive world.

Future growth was possible in in tourism and New Zealand could compete overseas in the world of high technology.

After the candidates had spoken there were a series of 11 questions from the audience ranging from rural education to next year's proposed All Black tour of South Africa.

On links with South Africa, Mr Beetham said Social Credit supported the Gleneagles Agreement. They abhored [sic] apartheid but did not believe a government should interfere with an individual's right to travel where he wanted.

Mr Walpole said Labour supported Gleneagles, but felt only lipservice had been paid to it in 1981. Labour would not stop individuals from travelling where they wanted but would attempt to dissuade them more.

Mr Marshall said National would not interfere with any individual's rights to leave the country.”