Lange and Muldoon clash, two days after the election. Our live updates editor is on the case.
In a ranking of the most dramatic, unhinged days in New Zealand politics, July 16, 1984 would be right up there. David Lange would later call the day “perhaps the most extraordinary of my life in politics” and he was yet to be sworn in as prime minister.
Sadly (or mercifully, depending on your point of view), this day, a couple of days after the 84 election, elapsed long before the advent of live blogs, podcasts and all that. But let not such details stand in the way. Below, and with the considerable benefit of hindsight and creative licence, we present July 16, 1984, as it happened.
The Nation Is at Risk, the second episode of Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government, is now available wherever you get your podcasts.
Anzus Council meeting to kick off
Hordes of government officials and attendant media packs are gathering this morning for the first day of the Anzus summit. George Shultz, the US secretary of state, arrived last night in stormy weather, landing at Ohakea because his plane is too big for Wellington’s landing strip. The prime minister elect, David Lange, will not be a formal participant, but flew to Wellington and on to the Manawatū last evening to welcome the American foreign affairs boss. Lange also welcomed into a howling Wellington gale the Australian foreign minister, Bill Hayden, around 9.30pm.
Four council sessions are scheduled for today and tomorrow. New Zealand will be represented by the outgoing foreign minister, Warren Cooper, who will be in no position to make any commitments on the part of the incoming government.
‘PM lost his party the election’
“Sir Robert Muldoon called the snap general election, he campaigned with himself as the chief issue, he was seen as the chief issue by the other main parties, and it was he who lost the election.” That’s the blunt opening sentence in an analysis by Oliver Riddell, politcal editor of the Press newspaper, under the headline “PM lost his party the election”.
Muldoon has pinned the decision to go to the polls on Marilyn Waring, but that didn’t wash with the public, he writes. “Sir Robert compounded this initial disadvantage by promoting himself as the chief issue. In doing so, he misread the mood of the electorate … Every time Sir Robert said he had been Minister of Finance for 17 years, he cost votes for National.”
That sentiment is echoed in the Press editorial, which suggests “for many New Zealanders, the crucial election issue was the leadership of Sir Robert Muldoon”. It separately tasks the victorious Labour Party with telling the country what it really plans to do.
“When a long-serving administration is voted out of office, a sense of uncertainty is inevitable,” begins the leader, under the headline “Waiting for a manifesto”. It continues: “Uncertainty is compounded this week because the Labour Party has won the General Election with a substantial margin of seats in parliament, but without having given the country any detailed idea of what it intends to do.”
Don’t expect any earthquake, it adds. “Sudden or substantial changes in the country’s direction are not likely soon after Labour takes office.”
‘One of the great blunders’
In the Dominion, Richard Long – a reporter who shows all the signs of becoming a future editor of the paper and even someone who could take on the role of chief of staff for future prime ministers – offers no consolation to the PM. He writes: “Sir Robert’s decision to go for the snap election and his action in defining the choice as ‘my long – warts and all – or the other lot’ will go down in political history as one of the great blunders.”
Lange talks cheese with Judith Fyfe
According to a source close to Lange, he has been speaking to oral historians Judith Fyfe and Hugo Manson through the campaign. We’re told Lange has just made mention of Mangere, old friends, and how he once dressed up as a block of cheese.
Cabinet meets
A short meeting of cabinet has concluded with no sign that Muldoon is ready to buckle and agree to a devaluation, despite the earlier urging of Spencer Russell of the Reserve Bank and Bernie Galvin of the Treasury, who visited him earlier this morning. “I will not devalue,” he is believed to have told ministers. “There is no need to devalue.”
Muldoon calls Lange
Word has reached The Spinoff that Muldoon called Lange half an hour ago, saying the outflow of New Zealand currency had continued apace from the calling of the election through to polling day and officials believed they had no choice but to close the foreign currency market.
Russell and Galvin are thought to be heading to Auckland to brief Lange. Muldoon had got in first, and urged him not to heed the likely advice to devalue.
Bank governor and Lange meet
A source at Auckland airport says they’ve spotted Lange, together with his incoming ministers Roger Douglas and David Caygill, gathered in a secret meeting room at the domestic terminal, deep in discussion with Russell and Galvin.
Protest outside Anzus Council meeting
A group of about 50 protesters has been camped out for much of the day, despite a blistering southerly and bitter rain, across the road from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on the Terrace, where the Anzus summit is under way. Placards include “Bread not Bombs”, “Go home Shultz”, “Nuclear-free Pacific” and “Don’t listen to Reagan”.
NZ election makes front page of Grey Lady
The Spinoff’s decision to invest in a state-of-the-art 8815 IBM Scanmaster I – a scanner, printer, copier and facsimile machine, all in one unit – has really paid off. We’ve just received a copy of the front page of the New York Times, which includes the headline, “New Zealander Wants to Avoid Fight With US”.
“Prime Minister-elect David Lange said today that he wanted to avoid an early confrontation with the United States but that he stood by his party’s pledge to ban nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships from New Zealand waters,” opens the article, bylined Bernard Gwertzman.
Shultz is quoted describing “a very warm feeling between the people of the United States and, I think, the people of New Zealand, and we will work at the situation.” But it comes with a warning: “Anzus is an alliance. It is an alliance in the light of the fact that the basic values of freedom, liberty, the rule of law are shared by Australia, New Zealand and the United States, among other countries in the world. And so we recognize that there are threats to these values and that we have to deter these threats. And that is essentially the basis for this alliance. Now, for an alliance to mean anything, it has to be possible for the military forces of the respective countries to be able to interact together. Otherwise, it’s not much of an alliance.”
Of the election, the Times says the expert view is that it hinged on “widespread voter dissatisfaction with Sir Robert, the crusty 62-year-old leader of the National Party”.
Confusion reigns
Who’s running the show? Hard to say. The 5pm bulletin on Radio New Zealand begins: “Confusion reigns over what politicians are doing about the country’s foreign exchange crisis.”
High security at parliament
A number of security guards are currently stationed outside the Labour leader’s suite of offices on the third floor of Parliament Buildings. A highly unusual scene, it is understood to be the result of concerns about keeping sensitive economic discussions confidential. Lange is believed to have travelled this afternoon from Auckland to parliament. If you’ve seen him or anything else of note, please give us a ring or send a telex.
Lange update
The chairman of the press gallery, Richard Griffin, has updated his colleagues with a message from the incoming PM. “He’s in some consultation with the prime minister but the prime minister is not taking his advice on this,” is the word. We’re advised not to expect anything more from either camp tonight, so we’ll probably be winding up this live blog shortly.
Muldoon should resign, says new MP
The 6.30pm news on TV One leads with coverage of the foreign exchange market closure and the likelihood of a devaluation – but there is no sign of Muldoon making it so. Meanwhile, the new National MP for Remuera, Doug Graham, must have a thick hide; he tells the bulletin that it’s probably a good time for Muldoon to resign the party leadership.
There’s also coverage of the Anzus Council meeting and discussion of how the new cabinet might be composed.
Harman sighted on highway
Richard Harman, the swashbuckling chief political correspondent for TVNZ, has been spotted roaring up State Highway 2, in the direction, perhaps, of the prime ministerial residence, Vogel House. We’ll be switching immediately to the other channel, TV Two. Eye Witness News is up at 9.30pm. And Falcon Crest is the appetiser; according to the listings, Angie tells Lance that Joseph was given to Cole in return for half of Falcon Crest.
Something is cooking
According to a Beehive source, a posse of senior Labour figures, among them Lange, Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and Lange’s head of press Ross Vintiner have crowded into the TVNZ studio at parliament and are huddled around a screen, enraptured.
Stand by for Muldoon v Lange
If you’re near a television set, fire it up and go directly to TV Two. Looks like we’re getting not just an interview with Muldoon, but also a response from Lange. Take a seat and hold on to it.
‘I can give him some instruction in the realities of government’
The prime minister begins the interview by restating his assertion that “there is no need” to devalue. The dollar “wasn’t under pressure until the election came along. It will not be under pressure after the election is over, if Mr Lange and I make a joint statement that we will not devalue,” he tells Richard Harman in an interview at Vogel House recorded this evening.
This is incendiary stuff from Muldoon. He goes up a gear. “I am not going to devalue as long as I’m minister of finance,” he says. “I hope that tomorrow Mr Lange can get someone to explain it to him sufficiently so that he says we will not devalue either.”
Asked about the constitutional arrangements in this in-between zone, Muldoon doubles down. “If Mr Lange has got any sense at all, and up until this moment on this thing he has not displayed it, he will come out with me and say we will not devalue the New Zealand dollar. He only has to say that tonight, and I can assure you that everything else will fall into place.”
But won’t Lange simply make a decision to devalue once he is sworn in? “I’m hoping that in the short space of a day or two, I can give him some instruction in the realities of government, where you don’t give way to every pressure … Now if he can’t learn that. He’ll be out with a bigger majority against him than I think he will have.”
Asked about new MP Doug Graham’s remarks, Muldoon offers, “I forgive him.”
‘This nation is at risk’
A full-throated response from Lange. Having viewed the Muldoon interview, he says: “My reaction is to have the people of New Zealand look at the last part of his speech, where he talked about the electoral position that I would find myself in. I say that to tragedy for New Zealand at a time of economic crisis, that we have a man beaten at an election, he refuses to resign. He is actually committing economic sabotage. He is misrepresenting the position. And the worst tragedy of all for New Zealand is that he is doing it single handedly without any other cabinet minister having any idea at all how grave the situation is. And there he is appearing to wallow in political point scoring.”
He notes the advice from Russell against agreeing to Muldoon’s demand to come out against devaluation. “A person who has the responsibility for the soundness of the New Zealand currency, told me, in other words, that the prime minister of New Zealand was talking economic nonsense.”
A direct appeal to Muldoon’s caucus colleagues: “It is time for the National Party to take steps in the interests of this country’s economic security, to see that he does not exercise their power, because clearly now he has passed the capacity to exercise a judgment in the interest of New Zealand.”
And: “He will not accept that Saturday has happened … I say that we have now reached the point where there is a constitutional crisis. It is past all this politicking. I have today been absolutely restrained. I have done nothing whatever which could in any way harm the interests of this country. This prime minister, outgoing, beaten, has in the course of one television interview tried to do more damage to the New Zealand economy than any statement ever made. He has actually alerted the world to a crisis. And, like King Canute, he stands there and says everyone is wrong. But maybe the officials disagree. The IMF disagrees. The governor of the Reserve Bank disagrees. And yet he says that he is the only one who is right … Now it is time for this prime minister to convene his cabinet to tell him the truth and, quite literally, to surrender power.”
Harman asks Lange what he can do about the situation.
Lange: “I have no power at all. The prime minister holds the power. I have no more power than you have. When I am sworn in, I will have both the power and I will use responsibility. But in the meantime, this nation is at risk. That is how basic it is. And I am concerned to think that there is a person at the titular head who is behaving in such a bizarre and irresponsible fashion.”
Meanwhile up on The Terrace
The US embassy has been calling press gallery offices wondering where everyone is. In highly uncharacteristic fashion, New Zealand journalists are a no-show at an Anzus media drinks reception at the James Cook hotel. Busy night.
Simon Upton on a mission
Twentysomething MP Simon Upton has been spotted emerging from the office of the deputy prime minister, Jim McLay, then darting around the Beehive in a manner much like Kevin Bacon scuttling and sliding down the staircase in Footloose, currently screening at a cinema near you, apparently summoning together senior ministers. Something is up.
Hugh Templeton spotted sprinting to parliament
Cabinet minister Hugh Templeton lost his Ohariu seat to youngster Peter Dunne on Saturday night (New Zealand Party leader Bob Jones finished third in a tight race), but he’s not lying down. On the contrary, he’s just been seen sprinting down Bowen Street with a look of alarm on his face. He seems almost to be thinking: as we had feared, in defeat, Muldoon is trying to drag down the temple.
Lange speaks to media
David Lange has spoken to the press at parliament, reiterating the positions taken on Eye Witness News, and calling for Muldoon to stand down. “In my view he should resign,” he said. “In my view he must resign. There are still responsible people in the National Party who could and ought now to intervene. I consider it essential that some counsel prevails in the interests of New Zealand.”
Closing time
Richard Harman and Dominion journalist Bernard Lagan – who has the sort of erudition that suggests he could end up one day writing for, say, the Times of London – have been observed wandering around the Beehive looking for drinking buddies. We’re hearing that they’ve seen McLay and a bunch of top National MPs hunched over what looks like the Constitution Act.
Muldoon statement
A statement just in from the prime minister’s spokesperson suggests he remains unbending. Muldoon continues to urge Lange to sign a joint statement ruling out devaluation and accuses the Labour leader of adopting “a political attitude at the expense of the New Zealand economy”.
Flush mob
A friend who washes dishes at Le Normandie has called in with some hot morsels. Turns out the Bankers’ Association annual dinner is on there tonight (it’s just a few doors up from the Matterhorn Coffee Lounge on Cuba Street, which came first in our recent ranking of asparagus rolls) and she tells me everyone is talking about Muldoon’s TV interview and the currency crisis.
Among the heavy hitters at The Norm are Spencer Russell of the Reserve Bank, Bernie Galvin from Treasury and Gerald Hensley, head of the Prime Minister’s Department. They’ve apparently taken refuge from the chatter in the gentlemen’s bathroom, where they’re conducting an emergency summit.
(I can’t explain the subhead above but it seems like the sort of thing that might make sense one day.)
See you at the James Cook
We’re hearing that Harman and Galvin are up at the James Cook on The Terrace, drinking with American embassy officials and US journalism luminaries including NBC’s Marvin Kalb.
That’s a wrap
After a gripping episode of Quincy, the Goodnight Kiwi is climbing into his satellite hammock and sending TV Two to test signal mode, so it’s time to put this live blog to bed, too.
Tomorrow, we’re hearing, Muldoon could face an intervention from within, while Lange is set to hold his first caucus meeting of the term and, who knows, maybe even convene an informal meeting with Shultz, the substance of which will be contested for years.
Stop, the presses
The first edition of the Dominion is just in. What a front page. One to keep for the grandchildren.
And straight off the Scanmaster …
