Clark accuses Lange of rewriting history

Prime Minister Helen Clark has accused David Lange of "rewriting history" in his autobiography which hits bookstands tomorrow.

In the book, My Life, former prime minister Mr Lange accuses many of his former cabinet colleagues of being a "terrible lot of people".

The book follows him through the split in the government that led to his resignation as prime minister in August 1989, and the government's catastrophic defeat by National in 1990.

Among the victims of Mr Lange's caustic pen is Helen Clark who he accuses of not speaking out against Rogernomics and his "fundamentalist" former finance minister Roger Douglas.

Helen Clark, housing minister after 1987, never became involved in cabinet fights over economic policy in the second term of the Labour government.

Mr Lange claims Mr Douglas "bought off Clark by promising her supply in her housing portfolio".

"She responded by putting her head down. I do not remember her buying into any fight we ever had in Cabinet. She was by her own account a survivor: as long as her paddock had a good sole of grass the firestorm could consume the rest."

Helen Clark said today she thought Mr Lange's comments were unfair.

"I think inevitably with autobiographies there is a bit of rewriting of history that's going on," she said on Newstalk ZB.

She remembered "a number of events" where she was of help to Mr Lange.

"It's got to be remembered that I was prevented from getting into cabinet in '84 to '87 when the major Rogernomics changes were done and I came in in '87 and was appointed minister of housing by David to stop the madness running through that portfolio, which I very successfully did."

Helen Clark said she was charged with stopping market rents and selling off state houses, moves National later re-adopted.

She said she was appointed health minister in 1989 and carried on the same approach of strong public provision.

The current Clark-led Government had also set out to ensure there were strong social services and supports, she said.

"My job has been to rebuild the damage that was done in the 1980s and restore Labour to electoral credibility which I have," she said.

"But there you go, this is his retrospective view 21 years after the event."

Helen Clark said later on National Radio that she believed Mr Lange was an ``outstanding New Zealander'' and the nuclear-free policy ``will always stand as a tribute to him''.

- NZPA