COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN DANGER? Conference on racist sport proposed

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32612, 21 May 1971, Page 10

COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN DANGER? Conference on racist sport proposed

A na * ional conference of the Federation of Labour, the churches. Halt All Racist Tours, the Citizens’ Association for Racial Equality and other concerned groups, including the Christchurch Commonwealth Games Committee, should be called urgently to consider New Zealand’s sporting ties with South Africa, the secretary of C.A.R.E. (Mr T. O. Newnham) said yesterday.

In a statement to “The Press,” Mr Newnham said support given by the F.O.L. for the Australian trade unions to boycott South African racist sports tours was most welcome, and it underlined the urgent need for a conference to be held in New Zealand.

“Unless the issue is resolved soon, the vast sums of money being raised for the 1974 Commonwealth Games are being thrown down the drain,” he said. “How can the committee expect African support for the games if New Zealand bowlers go ahead with their plans to play South Africa and Rhodesia in Rhodesia.” “NX DOUBLE-TALK”

Most Commonwealth countries found New Zealand double-talk on the question of opposition to apartheid to be quite disgusting, Mr Newnham said. "So do an increasing number of New Zealanders.”

If the conference was called soon, it might be able to save the women’s world hockey tournament, planned for Auckland in August at a cost of $BO,OOO, from disaster.

“This tournament is facing collapse, as overseas countries are withdrawing because a team of white players has been invited to represent South Africa,” said Mr Newnham. In a letter to the Prime Minister (Sir Keith Holyoake) advocating the need for a conference of New Zealand sporting bodies and organisations opposed to the country’s participation in racist sport, Mr Newnham said that a great many New Zealanders

who were considering financial commitments towards the Commonwealth Games would like to see the situation clarified before taking further steps. "We believe that the situation is continuing to deteriorate rapidly,” he wrote. “Without a clear lead from the Government on the issue of racist sport, there will inevitably be further internal disorder, increasing isolation for New Zealand sportsmen, and what could amount to financial disasters in some cases where large sums of money are being invested in tournaments which could clearly collapse on the question of racist sport.”

LACK OF LEADERSHIP Should this happen, it will clearly be seep to be because of lack of Government leadership to the sporting bodies concerned, he said in the letter.

“We understand that the tour of New Zealand bowlers which is being secretly planned at the moment, is to be financed by a Rhodesian tobacco company,” Mr Newnham told the Prime Minister. “This surely makes a mockery of New Zealands’ declared international position vis-a-vis the Smith regime.” Much more serious, however, was the situation fac-

ing the Chrischurch Commonwealth Games Committee if the defiiant support of apartheid sport by New Zealand sporting bodies was to continue. LETTER TO PLAYERS In other moves against participation with South African white teams, the Auckland-based Citizens Association for Racial Equality has sent an open letter to all women hockey players in New Zealand concerning the planned world tournament, the Student Teachers’ Association is to press the Auckland Education Board to reverse its decision to allow the South African women’s hockey team to use the facilities at Ardmore Teachers’ College, and the West Indian Cricket Board of Control has set down a motion calling for the isolation of the white South African body from international cricket, to be put to the International Cricket Conference. C.A.R.E. has told the women hockey players that they have raised $BO,OOO over the last six years in order to stage the tournament, but that the organisers had kept quiet about the fact that overseas teams had withdrawn because they would not play with apartheid teams.