N.Z. into isolation?

The isolation of New Zealand on its decision to ban visits to its ports of nuclear-powered or armed naval vessels was just about complete by mid- September when the N.Z.La bor Party held its annual and, this year, somewhat remarkable annual conference.

There, not only was the ban on ship visits vociferously approved, but delegates went far further in a variety of directions which showed the party militants to be not only at odds with most governments of the region, but also with their own government.

David Lange was clearly embarrassed by some of the motions enthusiastically carried, and his own deputy foreign affairs minister, Mr O’Flynn, left the meeting visibly upset and angry.

Mr O’Flynn’s particular prob lem was made more pointed when, in an effort to hush public debate about some of the more controversial issues, the conference for a time closed its doors to the press. Mr O’Flynn is about to make a tour of the ASEAN countries and among the off-record subjects discussed was a motion calling on the government to withdraw its military attaches from all ASEAN nations and turn to developing closer economic, cultural and diplomatic ties with Vietnam.

They also proposed that the N.Z. infantry battalion be pulled out of Singapore within a year, and that all N.Z. forces de ployed outside the Pacific be recalled, unless they were under U.N. sponsorship.

The left-wingers, by now in full cry, then passed a motion

demanding the Lange govern

ment withdraw from all alliances with nuclear powers which, said one delegate pointedly, “means ANZUS.”

Another motion from the same group urged the closing of the U.S.Air Force’s Operation Deep Freeze base in Christ church, which has been the centre of Antarctic research for about 30 years. Appended to that was a call for a full public inquiry into two U.S. manned communications bases in other parts of New Zealand.

Beyond that there was a pot-pourri of other recom mendations such as would have the welkins ringing at any Sat urday night undergraduate beer and bunfest. They didn’t like the Rapid Deployment Force, and they felt that N.Z. armed forces should be used only for disaster relief and U.N. peace keeping duties. They wanted recognition withdrawn from the Pol Pot regime and diplomatic links with the Philippines re viewed. They thought it would be a good idea to end military links with Manila and Jakarta.

They declared their support for the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and demanded rec ognition of the FRD/FMLN as “a legitimate voice of the Salva doran people.”

In short, they had a lovely time and in the process demon strated how far away from their own Cabinet, government, and country they were.

But they also supported Aus tralia’s stand on observance, or the lack of it, of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and called on France to refrain from using the Kerguelen or Croset islands as nuclear test sites when, or if, they withdrew from Polynesia.

In the end, their highly popular leader, Mr Lange, who withstood the onslaught with remarkable cheerfulness, felt constrained to warn the dele gates against providing a cata logue of quotes that would damage the government’s popularity.

And he was careful to note when talking with correspon dents outside the conference hall that none of the motions were binding on his govern ment.

Of course, on nuclear matters generally, the ship issue aside, New Zealand is thoroughly aligned with current Pacific thinking and took a leading part in supporting the Australian in itiative on a regional nuclear free zone. But this does not get it off the horns of the ship-visit dilemma where Mr Lange re mains personally hung by his party’s long-standing dogma.

The N.Z. Labor Party confer ence last month went through the brave exercise of con gratulating itself on public approval of its assorted wis doms, but was left in no doubt about the size of the national reconstruction job ahead, and the strength of the forces with which they had to deal. The nuclear ship visit policy was seen by some as disadvantag ing the more important econo mic situation.

The N.Z. business commun ity, particuarly, worried that at a time when New Zealand needed every fat greenback it could scrape up in a cruel and callous world, the government was upsetting both the Austra lians and the Americans on a matter of little practical or im mediate value.