Don’t charge H.A.R.T., Govt advised

Press, 29 August 1978, Page 1

Don’t charge H.A.R.T., Govt advised

The Government has been told that a prosecution against the Halt All Racist Tours organisation is unlikely to succeed.

The Crown Law Office nad advised the AttorneyGeneral (Mr Wilkinson) that it did not think there was “any profit” in endeavouring to take action against H.AT.T. under the Race Relations Act or y other legislation said the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) yesterday, reports the Press Association from Wellington. “Their advice was that they didn’t think it would succeed,” Mr Muldoon said after a Cabinet meeting. Last week the Government asked for an opinion on whether ILA.R.T.’s latest report breached the Race Relations Act. The report, entitled “Hart Under Attack,” analy.es New Zealand’s reaction to Nigeria’s boycott of the Commonwealth Games and lists sports contacts with South Africa since the Gleneagles Agreement. Mr MuMoon said last week that a'though a “fav-

ourable verdict” could probably not be obtained in the field of sedition, the report might infringe the Race Relations Act.

Asked yesterday what the Government’s position was with H.A.R.T. in view of the Crown Law Office’s opinion, he said: “We just have to continue to correct them every time they say something that’s wrong.” Asked if the Government intended to establish a diplomatic post in Africa to counter information sent by H.A.R.T., he said it would be hard to justify a new post. The next post was likely to be in Egypt. Mr Muldoon said he had found that other Commonwealth governments were “quite ignorant about these affairs.”

One Prime Minister who had played a prominent role at Gleneagles had told him it was four months after Gleneagles before he had found out that a South

African tennis team had been playing in England at the time of the Gleneagies meeting.

“He was highly indignant,” said Mr Muldoon. “It indicates the coverage given to this issue in other countries. It’s minimal.”

Mr Muldoon said he doubted if President Carter knew that a United States rugby team was now playing in South Africa. Asked if he thought that, in fairness to New Zealand, the Commonwealth Secre-tary-General (Mr S. Ramphal) should keep other governments informed of what New Zealand was doing to implement the Glen eagles Agreement, Mr I luldoon said: “He’s got his priorities. I think it would dignify this kind of thing excessively if he had a man doing nothing else, which is what it would amount to.” Indian letter, page 2.