H.A.R.T. traitorous — Mr Muldoon

Press, 23 July 1976, Page 1

H.A.R.T. traitorous — Mr Muldoon

PA Wellington The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) has described the organisations. Halt All Racist Tours and the Citizens’ Association for Racial Equality, as traitorous.

In a snap debate in Parliament yesterday on the All Black tour, Mr Muldoon said the activities of certain “dissident” New Zealanders—such as H.A.R.T. and C.A.R.E. — bordered on treason. Other Government speakers called the two organisations traitors and quislings.

The debate was called by the Opposition to discuss the effects on New Zealand’s trade of the Government’s attitude to the All Black tour of South Africa. Mr Muldoon said the "dissidents” had deliberately spread lies about the New Zealand attitude to apartheid and had the support of the Labour Party. Members of the Opposition had marched in demonstrations with them. He asked Labour members to search their consciences to determine whether they were breaking their Parliamentary oath in taking part in such demonstrations. The Prime Minister spoke after the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Tizard) said New Zealand faced trade boycotts, exclusion from the Commonwealth Games in 1978, and even the possibility of an oil embargo. Mr Tizard said the statement by the Egyptian Charge d’Affaires (Dr I. Z. Sorour) that New Zealand faced action against it by non-aligned nations and the Third World at international forums was a matter of urgent public importance. New Zealand had had very little sports contact with Egypt, and to his knowledge, with Iraq, in recent times. "But we do have, and hope to have even greater, trade and diplomatic contact.” Many of those who sheltered behind the notion that sport was out of politics should now take a look at New Zealand’s economic future. Mr Tizard repeated his claim that the Undersecretary for Sport and Recreation (Mr Comber) had “slid into Auckland” to bid farewell to the All Blacks. He had extended his blessing to the team, and then the Government had claimed that the All Blacks did not have the support of the Government. A trade embargo could hit New Zealand hard, Mr Tizard said. Tae Middie East countries, which were very close to the African nations, could impose a selective oil embargo on New Zealand as they had against the Netherlands. Mr Muldoon said there was a difference of opinion between Mr Tizard and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) on the issue. A few days ago Mr Tizard had said That as a last resort the Labour Partv would nave taken the All Blacks’ passports away to prevent them from travelling to South Africa, but some hours later, “at the direction of his leader.” he withdrew the statement. The Prime Minister said the Government was not going to change its mind and policy, as the Labour Party had done twice, in the face of political blackmail. The policy of the National Party was noninterference in sport, and

there was support for that policy throughout New Zealand and in every sporting nation in the world. “We have a policy of non-interference in sport and we will stick to it; and in the long run we will be respected more than the Labour Party.” The Prime Minister said he had received a message on Wednesday, quoting the British Minister for Sport (Mr Denis Howell) as saying that he would try to dissuade a British rugby team from going to South Africa next year, but would not stop the tour. The Minister of Recreation and Sport (Mr Highet) said that in the opinion of everyone on the Government’s side of the House, H.A.P<T. and C.A.R.E. were traitors to the country.

“I am not allowed to say this about the other side, but they are going along the same path.”

Mr Comber said the Labour Party was bowing to blatant international blackmail. It was giving comfort to H.A.R.T. and C.A.R.E.—“the quislings”— which were selling out the country to the rest of the world.

Mr C. J. Moyle (Lab., Mangere) said that in his speech Mr Muldoon had not referred to the statements of the Egyptian diplomat or to the implications for New Zealand of the All Black tour.

All of the problems would have been solved had the Government made it clear that it did not want the Ail Blacks to go to South Africa and that they would not go with the good will of the Government,

said Mr Moyle. This was the attitude of the British Government toward Lions tours of South Africa. New Zealand’s relationship with the Middle East was new, delicate, and fragile, and would be easily destroyed. “We (the Labour Party) opened a lot of doors in the last three years, and one by one we see them closing because of the reactionary Prime Minister,” Mr Moyle said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Taiboys) said Labour had shown clearly that it would not have issued passports to the All Blacks.

If it had not done this, it would in Government have had to face exactly the same set of international circumstances which National was facing.