John Street (left) led the charge against Muldoon's infamous boat tax. He is standing with Olaf and Hilary Harken.
Robert David Muldoon's Boat Tax
Since the introduction of fiberglass GRP, New Zealand has produced top quality GRP boats for both local and export markets.
The only interruption came in 1979 when the National Government (more specifically the infamous Robert David Muldoon) introduced a 20% boat tax. Muldoon's tax clobbered the boat building industry.
John Street led the charge against Muldoon's retrospective tax. Endless meetings were held with the Prime Minister who became embroiled in the boat tax controversy after the Hon. Hugh Templeton (Minister of Customs) could not take the heat of the industry protest. Muldoon agreed with the protesters, but his Irish ancestry would not permit him to admit it publicly.
The meetings continued through 1979 and into 1981, unfortunately to no avail. Street continued the fight in an effort to convince the government that the 20% boat tax not only devastated the boat building industry, but also produced a negative tax income to the government.
It was suggested that Muldoon look down at the boats in Westhaven every time he crossed the Harbour Bridge to his Chatswood Auckland home, or at Christmas when being driven to his Hatfields Beach house. All those people with boats in the likes of Westhaven must be punished because they were rich and could afford to pay the 20% boat tax.
"Well, Muldoon, now deceased, you didn't manage to totally destroy the boat building industry and today it is the largest manufacturing sector outside primary farming and tourism" (John Street).
The Hon. Margaret Shields was appointed Minister of Customs and again the industry lobbied Government who agreed to drop the boat tax to 10%. This was soon absorbed into the now well established GST tax. At least the GST tax is across the board and not selective like Muldoon's 20% boat and caravan tax.
During the 1979/1984 period, in excess of 80% of boat builders were driven out of business, many closing their doors and going overseas to find work, or to establish New Zealand boat building methods offshore. Fortunately, with the change of government, many of the political controls of the Muldoon era were removed. The New Zealand economy flourished. In the mid '80s import controls were progressively removed and the marine industry expanded rapidly.
From the difficult years of the late 1970s, the industry pushed into export markets and New Zealand soon had a reputation as world class designers and boat builders.
Names such as Cooksons Boat Builders, Marten Marine, Thackeray Yachts (now Sensation Yachts), Alloy Yachts, McMullen and Wing, plus others started to make a real impact on overseas markets. In more recent years names such as Salthouse Boat Builders, Kelly Archer, Vaudrey Miller, Salthouse Marine Group, Miller Moyes Seacraft, Stablcraft, Sea Nymph, McDell Marine, Rayglass, Aquapro, Lancer, Frank Simpson (Figlass), Austral Yachts, Fitzroy Yachts, Southern Ocean Marine, Thwaites Yachts and many others broke into the export markets of the world.
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