P.M.’s men to lay ground in London

Press, 26 May 1977, Page 1

P.M.’s men to lay ground in London

Two members of the Prime Minister’s department will leave for Britain today to prepare the ground for his arrival in London in about a fortnight. The head of the Prime Minister’s Department (Mr B. V. Galvin) and his chief press secretary (Mr G. W. Symmans) will depart for London only hours before Mr Muldoon leaves for Niue, Rarotonga, Apia, and Fiji. Having completed the South Pacific portion of his tour on June 4. Mr Muldoon will fly to London, arriving about June 7. The team of two has prepared a brief on matters likely to be discussed at the Commonwealth Heads of State conference in London. Prominent among these is a long and careful

Parliamentary reporter definition of the Government’s attitude on apartheid, and specifically its stand concerning sports ties with South Africa.

It is rumoured the papers on this constitute a bulky tome, which reveals that New Zealand’s attitude and that of the Governments of the United Kingdom and Canada are similar. This view was emphasised during question time in Parliament yesterday, when Mr Muldoon said that “You could not get a cigarette paper” between the New Zealand Government’s attitude on apartheid and racially selected sports teams, and that of the Canadian Government. It is not known whether Mr Galvin or Mr Symmans will report to Mr Muldoon while he is in the Islands. An official of the Prime

Minister’s Department said that this was possible, but not likely. “It is not really remarkable, however, that officers from New Zealand should go ahead of the Prime Minister to prepara the way,” the spokesman said. “It is better to do this than to rely on secondhand information relayed by our London staff.” Opposition spokesmen have attacked the decision to send the two officers to London.

The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) and a Labour spokesman (Mr E. E. Isbey) will oppose the moves in the House. “The Government is obviously trying to placate world opinion on our attitude to sports contact with South Africa,” Mr Isbey said.