Mr Fenton joins ranks of critical Govt backbenchers

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 2

Mr Fenton joins ranks of critical Govt backbenchers

PA Hamilton The Government has been accused by one of its own members of bowing to overseas pressure in modifying its stand on sporting contacts with South Africa. Mr Robert Fenton, member of Parliament for Hastings, said yesterday, the new Government stance was "at least marginal political interference” in sport and he would seek a Government assurance at this week’s party caucus meeting that there would be no further modification of policy. But a second backbencher. Dr lan Shearer, M.P. for Hamilton East, has hailed the new stance and said he has been "uneasy” for some time about the Government’s attitude on the South Africa sports contacts issue.

The Minister of State (Sir Keith Holyoake) said during the week-end the Government would introduce “an element of dissuasion” against New Zealand sports teams proposing South Africa tours by presenting them with "the facts” about the implications their tours would have. The Government has previously condemned apartheid but steadfastly held to its election campaign pledge of no interference with sporting bodies.

Mr Fenton — the founder of the War Against Recreational Disruption (W.A.R.D.) — said from Hastings he was disturbed by the latest stance because it appeared New Zealand was bowing to overseas pressure. “There has been inordinate pressure placed on the Government by a group of nations which are, in point of fact, repeating the same coercive tactics they adopted in international sport,” he said.

“The sport-politics amalgam is emerging again before which the Government has felt obliged to make concessions. The concessions are in view of trading and diplomatic pressure — they are

fairly greatly removed from moral considerations.” Mr Fenton said he would feel "grossly let down” if the Government went past “this razor’s edge in this policy — it is a thin line for the Government to walk and we can’t deviate from it.” The Government’s new stance constituted the “maximum position” the Government could go on political

interference in sport. A special W.A.R.D. executive meeting has been held in Hastings and the organisation decided to ask the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) if the latest policy modification would be the last. Dr Shearer said the new policy made the Government’s approach more "definite.” "I have had an uneasy feeling about our policy for a

long time because I have been involved in foreign aid work and look at foreign policy from a total perspective.” Dr Shearer said the Government’s initial stand was not a misjudged one but perhaps the Government was not quite so strongly aware of the widespread involvement between politics and sports among foreign countries.