1

C.A.F#C.I.N.Z. NEWSLETTER

9 MARCH 1975

10 This is the first newsletter since the Resistance Ride and we must first ap?logise fOl its late ,appearance. Eor some people this will be the f'Lr-e t news of the Re s ts t ano e Ri de from nonhostile source s.

We do not ~ave roo:ll, in this newsletter t a pre sent a full report

on the Reslstance Rlde, but some of the items included describe par~s of ~he trip_ Al~o included is a guide to researching CO:Ilpan~es Whl~h we nope wlll help and encourage people to research thelr ownlnterest areas themselves - please send in the results.

And now to the trip itself. I think there can be n o'b ody who took part who did not find the Resistance Ride very successful and certainly worth all the effort that went into it. From the places we visited - Cromwell, Oomalco, Manapouri, etc, we all learned

a t~emendou~ amou~t - there's,nothing like direct experience for

s o.l Ld Le ar-n i ng , it was very Lmpo.r-t.arrt to meet people in the local action groups and some of our most valuable work was done when we worked in co-operation with such groups. Cromwell was the best

example of this. ~ . ~

Political worl~ was done mainly by campaigning door to dr)or with leaflets and petitions and by holding public meetings, which included a very good play by the Red Dragon Theatre Troupe from Wellington, both with very good results. The receptions we received were almost entirely friendly from the thousands of people that we met. Quite clearly, the majority of New Zealanders are opposed to foreign exploitation and control.

I mentioned hostile sources above. In general, the news media was uncooperative or h oa t i.Le towards us, the prime example being the "Christchurch Press". The police were also extremely unhelpful. Several times we found they had gone into towns ahead of us and spread wild rumours among the local people (to the extent that in Haast some people thought the Palestine Liberation Organisation was coming!) and at one stage they even tried to sabotage one of our public meetings by having the hall bOClking cancelled. However, r don't see all this as being entirely bad - if the police and news media are against us 9 we must be right!

John Christie.

2. In Te Anau we held a public meeting to a very large gathering where the Red Dragon TheatreJ?erformed their pla~ liThe Sun is Gonna Shine Clll Our Back Door ~Someday)". Followlng the play

Dr John Moore (a member of the Guardians of the Lakes) spoke on the issue of the lakes being raised for providing electricity

to the Bluff Al.urn i.n i.um Smelter. He said that the Government and the companies holding Comalco were actually more interested in

'1'e Ariau as a source of electricity and would probably have disregarded Manapouri, with the impending Campaign to Save Manapouri, for Te Anau. This was successfully obscured by the Government and companies until almost the end of the Campaign.

Another interGsting fact which he mentioned was that ConsCllidated Zinc in 1959 told IVlr Hugh Watt that Comalc 0 would provide 1 0 ~ 000 jobs for New Zealanders and in fact tClday only prClvides 700 to 800 jobs.

He said that even now there is a chance that they could raise the lakes and it still remains just an election promise of the Labour Par ty .

At this meeting we decided to send a telegram to both the Labour and National uarties to ask them what their policy was regarding the lakes. We received a telegram from lVlr MuldClon (Leader of the Opposition) quote liTHE. NA'rrONAL FARiry POLICY FOR .. Il'tfE. 1975 ~LJ:!:CTION WILL BE RELEASBD P'ROGRB;SSIV-BLY THRJUGHOUT TJlli YbAR".

The Labour Party reply was from Joe Walding quote nVvhile I understand your wish to see legislative safeguards introduced for the

2

protection of the lakes, I believe it is premature to consider introducing such legislation at this stage. If legislation regarding the lake levels were to be introduced it would be most desirable for this to be done after full control of the lakes

is achieved and guidelines for the operation of the lakes formulated, on the basis of experience.

'The question of protective legislation f o r the lakes was raised with NIrs ITirikatene - Su l Li.vari bv the Guardians of Lakes Nlana1Jouri and Te Anau late last year Emd in discussing this matterwith the Chairman, Dr Mark, she conveyed to him similar feelings to those expressed above. This is a matter which will need to

be kept under review, but in the meantime I would stress that

the Gove r-nme rrt is c omm.i tted to the ope r a t Lon of the lake s within their natural range of levels and that this commitment has strong public support".

3. OPINION SURVBY IN CROMWELL:

While in Cromwell, we visited most houses in the town to ask the opinions of the people on the proposed Clutha River power schemes. One of the dams in this scheme will, if built to 640 ft above

sea level, as wanted by the Electricity Department, flood a portion of Cromwell -township plus a large area of rich orchard land. The local opposition group, the Clutha Watchdogs, is pushing instead for a 570 ft dam which would result in minimal flooding.

The results or the survey, which covered about one third of the adult pDpulatlon, showed that only 27~ of the townspeople supported the full 640 ft dam. Another 18% had no opinion, but 55%

osed the government ac nome . It was remarkable though, that very strong support for the high dam (,640 f't ) came from the buslness cormpunity - 66'josupported it as opposed to.the 27% on average Thls was shown even more clearly In t he flgures for people wh o would be directly affected by the dam - for those wh o would have to shift h ome s 9 only 816 supported the dam, but for those having to shift their bu s i.nes se.s 1 7'11'6 supported the high ~arrL These figures certainly seem to bear out allegations we heard In. Cromwell that the government had offered very generous compensa t.Lo:n to the businessmen, provided the full 640 ft dam 'vvas built.

4. HEW BRANCH FORMED:

A new' O.A.F.C.LN.Z. branch has been formed inWellington9 with Christine Gillespie as Secretary. About 20 people attended the first meet ing, and ideas for doorlcnocking in VJellington, a public meeting and a North Island Reslstance Ride were discussed.

The "Red Dragon" theatre troupe will be putting on their play

at Victoria University. For interested people living in the Wellington area, Christine Gillespie lives at 128 Campbell st9 Wgtn, 59 phone 768-326.

5. NEWS ITEI'JIS ~

a) During his recent trip to Burope, Mr Rawling nas:3ured the City

of London" that the government's policy towards foreign takeovers was "not inflexible". (Iihe City of London is the financial heart of the city and of the British Empire.)

He said that the g:Jvernment had approved at least 80% of the applications for foreign takeovers. Mr Rovvling also said that "between 25 and 307~ of "total company assets in New. Zealand were

in foreign hands". He then went on to say that whlle he thought thlS level was too high, the solution was not to restrict further inve stment but for "New Zealanders to build up the ir own strengths with gTeater enerfyl1. (Christchurch Press, 24 E'ebruary, 75.)

b) John Kirk, lIJrp, recently made a fool of himself over l\It John.

'l'he following comes from "Kirk's Colunm\l 9 Star Sno r ts 9 1 February,

1975.

ill cannot reapon why a group of supposedly well-informed people should protest the presence of the Mount John satellite track-

3

iug station. I believe that the satellite tracking station

in South Canterbury does play an important function in the control of o~bi~ting satellites. I would like to know on what ~round~ the R~Blsta~ce Riders are condemning its presence. U~uld,~t be tne~ obJec~ because it is.primari~y A~erican controll~Q'1T If they ~o 1 tney c:-re su re Ly Ln t r oduc lng r-ae .i a L overtone;:;~ .More p'oss~b-.ly~ thelr ba s i c reason f o r protest c ou.Ld be the mllltary lmpllcatlons of the Mount John station. Matters such as the dependence on orbitting weather satellite would place on tr~cking stations such as-Mt John, seem to escape

the protesters logic". John Kirk concluded by commending the

peaceful nature of our visit to Mt John. .

6. FUTURE ACTIVITIES:

~'or futur~ activities .we have decided to continue doorknocking ln predomlnantly worklng class areas around Christchurch as a continuation of our efforts on the Ride.

'The ~rea chosen for our f~rst act,ivi tie s is Papariu L on the 15th Mar-c h when a few people w.i I.L leaflet. The following Saturday~

22nd March, we will doorknock the area.

The leaflet will consist of foreign control and investment information in general, and also local foreign industries, e. g.

Firestone factory in Papanui, olworths, Banks and Insurance

Companies around Christchurch.

We need every interested person to participate in the doorknocking.· Contact Resistance BO;Jk Shop, phone 30-664,

Our aim is to hold a public meeting, possibly on the Saturday night for the 1?apanui residents, giving a talk and showing slides

of the Ride and Foreign Control in N. Z. ..

We also hope to speak at the Liberal Study classes at :(apanui High School as a lead up to our doorknocking campaign and also after doorknocking has been accomplished.

Our aim is to eventually cover the whole of Christchurch in this way and inform folk of foreign control and interests; locally and nationally.

Pos t e r s are available at the Re sistanc e Bookshop for anyb ody who wishes to paste up around the city or areas that have not yet been done. This activity is best when done by a few people spontaneously rather than on an organised level.

Two enterprising and enthusiastic people have been active in continuing the campaign. One persun set up a table in the Square? one Friday lunchtiJrle wIth posters. literature and the two pet it ions. He rece i ved a f'av ou r ab.Le re Sl)OIWe from passers by' over 70 people signed -she petitions in two hours,

Th~ other pe r so n has appeared on the street s Friday night s with a billboard displaying the poster of the Kiwi. being })utthr::mgh the wringer,and asking people to sign the petitions. He also has had a very good response. So if anybody is thinking of carrying on with this action they can get all·the equipment at the Resistance Bookshop.

1?YM have devised a very effective Street Theatre on fore ign control in N~Z~ Some of the play is a skit from the "Red Dragon" Theatre troupe's play. "The Sun is Gonna Shine on

Ou.r Back Door (Some Day) il. There are ii ve players - a race commentator, 3 pouncing, well groomed colt and fillies - U.S.A., Japan and lLK., and a bedJ?apgled, expl,;i~ed maJ?e1, N.Z. These race horses parade down Hl{!)l St every Pr i.d ay n i.gh t at 7 p. m ,

to the beating of a drum, and the commentator announcing the greatest race of the ,. century is on in the squaJ?e for N. Z. IS natural reS01.JTces. At the Race Meetin&:9 our f i.ne corrc e s t an t s parade around wh.i.Le the COI?mentator. intr()~uce tl::m, accordin~s to their respective coun t r Le s and blg bu s i.ne s s lnterests they

4

hold in New Zealand. He does not fail to mention their exploitations in the Third World courrt r i.e a , e,g. Britain in Lnd j a , U.S.A. in Vietnam, N.Z. in the ?acific Islanders.

Unfortunately Iran and the BEC are scratched from the race _

not in good form these days!

~-\.nd ~heylre awaY~y.S.A.leading1 Japan coming up the rear,

ln Ilne are the u.~. and N.Z. contestants but sadlyN.z. begins to lag and comes in last. And up the score goes - a tie between U.S.Aq J-apan and the U.K. There is great jubilation and handshaking. These countries are handed their prizes of N.Z. Coal, The Beech Forest Schems1 Comalco, etc, to the boos and hisses

of the crowd.

SupDort 2YM :)11 Friday nights by beirigat the Resistance Bookshop at-~.30 p.m. They need people to hand out IBaflets informing folk of Foreign Control in N.Z. and the meaning of the Hace Meeting theatre. Also,if anyone has ideas on future street theatres to do with the subject of foreign control and is interested in being involved come along to the PYJ\fI meetings on Sunday nights at 8.p.m. Hing Joy Young - 893-Z34.

7. IlliSISTM1fCE RIDE BOOK:

Several discussions have taken place concerning a bo ok abou t the He sistance Ride, and fore ign control in New Zealand 1 but as yet

no firm decision has been made. The main problems are firstly deciding on the style (either a cheap booklet or a qualityproduced book) and secondly finding some people who are prepared to organise and edit the book. In the meantime, C.A.F.C.I .. N.Z. is asking people to contribute articles about the issues raised during the Resistance Ride, and is also collecting photographs.

would like all· participants in the Resistance Ride who took photographs to send copies of their good photographs or slides to C.A.F.C.I.N.Z. in Christchurch. Slides1 which cost 30 cents to duplicate, will be doubly useful as t hey can be used both for a book and for talks and public meetings.

8. FINANCES ~

We took $500.00 with us on the Resistance Ride.

We collected ;jjl202.30 in donations and extra fares 0'

We spent :U;618.00 but costs still to come will absorb the surplus money,

Tony is still finalising the account so we will have more details on finances in the next newsletter,

LOST PROPERTY

LOST PROPERTY LOS TPROPER'I',{

Lost property from Resistance Ride:

Yellow knitted jersey

Parka with screwdriver and 11i 'Catalogue! clipboard

Shorts, jeans, towel

2 small tent poles

2 big pots

Brown suede shoes 'How to survive' book Roman sandals

Folding shovel Utensils etc

Small kerosene lamp

Please write in with full details to Cli.FCINZ, P.O. Box 2258, ChCh.

Donation to cover postage would be welcome.

5

9. GUIDE TO RESEARCHING ON COMPANIES:

.A few hints on how to find out gory details of companies in New Zealand.

1. Loo1:= i~ up in the index of, uTakeover New Zealand", by W.B. Sutch.

If It l.S a reasonably large company with foreign connections this will probably give you a few details that.will give you a foothold. Details to watch for - parent or SUbsidiary companies

, other companies assoc iated in some way 1 direct ors 1 names 6f '

. members of "New Zealand Advisory Comilli ttees" (in the case of

wholly foreign-owned companies). .

2. "Who Owns vvhom in Au s t r-a.La s i a" - available at Y01:).r 1 ocalli brary.

This will give parent cowpanies and subsidiaries.

3. Look up "New Zealand Business Who's Wholl.(latest copy available" at_your local library) . ':rhis has a Hnominal Lndex " (of names e,f

companies) .a t the front arid of directors of companies at

the pack. The entry for thee ompany -w i.L'L show you: where its head office is, itsc0p:Ltal, what its business is, what agencies it has, its $ubEjidiaries, and parent and "associated companies" (one! s partly owne d by or, ;partly owning, or having c 9mmon own-

e r sri Lp with the company) '{rand its directors ~among otherinformation. All of these~-t'e significant: if youwarit to go deeper into the c orrrpanytt is these things that'-you have' to

follOW up- I

a) Head office - see 5 below.

b) Capital - what the company nominally is worth: can be misleading since it is only nominal; and big llltuitinatiq:n.als often set up br?-llcnes with

a relatively insignificant capital to get a foothold in the country - preferably, go to 4 below.

a) Its business - may warn you ofpOElsible c onnec t-. ions with other, more significant 1 c onrpaniE(s, . e. g.if it manufactures, aluminium products it very likely will have close connectiolW,with Camalco or Alcan ~. at the least, it will have to I keep in goo§i '.With them ..

d) Agencies.- wil,ll?:robabty S'SlOW clo,88 conI!ections and.agre ements vnth otner, usually fore 19nowned) c ompan Le s .

e) Subsidiaries~ parent company, associated companies - go through the whole process again with these (along with any other such connections .vou found from "Who Owns Whom").

f) birectors - these give you some limited direct access into the labyrinth of "unofficial" connections between companies that underlies it all

(what you can't get from this is all the old-boy ties, clubs, etc, that hold them together, plus things like common managers, accountants, etc)~ Look up the directors (especially the Chairman

and Deputy Chairman) in the index of directors and in the "New Zealand Who' sVilhall , (also available

at the local library). These will show you what other connections they have, especially with

other companies. If two or more directors of

your company are on the board of the same company there is very likely a tie up there - which is

not to discount other tie-ups from single directors, especially if they are Chairman or powerful in their own right (like Sir Cliff P'l i.mme r l }: keep an eye out for these.

Warning: "Business Who'sVVholl is notorious for its bad proof reading: there are many bad spelling mistakes, missing lines, missing entries, subsidiaries etc, missed out; directors are also sometimes given two or more different entries in the index, as if they were two different

6

people. Watch out! If you're keen, it's useful to check with back ISsues.

4. Write to head, offic e and ask for the ir late st annual report.

This will often give you useful information about their real prof'its(which they, love to boast aboirt ! ) , the real value of the ir ~ssets" and the ir subsidiarie s and other II inve stments II • It is useful to have some.onewith a knowledge of economics or accountancy around to help you to understand what everything means here.

5. Its listing in "Business Who's Who" will tell y)U where it is registered. ,If you go to .f.he Companies Office (Registry of Companies, C/- Justice Dept 9 in the state Insurance Building

in Christchurch) in, that city, you are legally entitled to insDect their files on that company which are held,there. These include lists of shareholders, annual reports, loans and other large financial transactions.' Unfortunately) you are not allowed to take them out ::>f the office and sometimesoannot photocopy them; also theY,terid to be rather inc omprehensible (even more

so than the annualxeport!) somqre expert help may be Ylecessary • At each office, there is an'alphabetical list of all companies registered in New Zealand, each with a code number whose initial figures indicate the place of registration.

NOTE:

1. Another useful book, especially on financial institutions, is II Guide bo ok to New Zealand I s Future II 9 by W, Rosenberg

2.

Don't be frightened hy all this - you'll find of times you will have enough expertise to do only pausing to ask "experts" on particulars. but there's no need to rely on them.

that after a couple this by yourself, 'Milk' the experts,

3. For 'raw' information, keep an eye on the Commercial pages of the daily papers. The political papers - especially the 'People's Voice' and 'The Paper' - also often have useful information on this topic.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*