Page "David Lange" Paragraph 6

Upon coming to office, Lange's government uncovered a skyrocketing public debt, ostensibly the result of Muldoon's policy of government regulation of the economy, including a wage-and price-freeze and regulation of the exchange rate.

Such economic conditions prompted Lange to remark: " We ended up being run very similarly to a Polish shipyard ".

Lange and Minister of Finance Roger Douglas engaged in a rapid programme of deregulation and public-asset sales, which brought criticism from many people in Labour's traditional support-base.

The Labour Party also lost support from many elderly people by introducing a superannuation surcharge after having promised not to reduce superannuation.