Police cannot decline tour duty Minister

Press, 25 October 1980, Page 1

Police cannot decline tour duty Minister

PA Wellington Policemen would not be able to decline, on moral grounds, duty at anti-Springbok-tour demonstrations, said the Minister ofPolice (Mr Couch) in Parliament yesterday. . He was replying to a question by Mrs Whetu Ti-rikatene-Sullivan (Lab., Southern Maori), who had asked whether a policeman could decline the duty on the grounds that he had a conscientious objection to supporting an apartheid State. Mr Couch said that a policeman was bound by his oath of office to comply with the orders of a superior officer. “The official presence of a police officer' at any activity does not imply either "support for or disapproval of the activity by that police officer of the New Zealand Police,” he said.

The Human Rights Commission will arrange a meeting with the Race Relations Conciliator (Mr Hiwi Tauroa) and members of the New Zealand Rugby Union soon to discuss the effect onracerfelatioris of a Springbok tour.'- ••

The move is in response to a complaint by the-Halt ah Racist Tours ,' group

after some anti-tour demonstrators were denied access to Eden Park during a match last month. - In a letter to Mr John Minto, the national organiser of H.A.R.T., the commission said that the issue was outside its jurisdiction. But referring to the proposed Springbok tour, it said that this could be vital to race relations in New Zealand. Accordingly, the commission would arrange a meeting between the union and Mr Tauroa.

On the question of police action at the match, die commission said that it would meet ..the police and pass on the outcome of that meeting to H.A.R.T. Mr Minto said he was Tvery happy” with the response. An anti-tour petition backed by the . main churches will bb' given to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Air Taiboys) next week. ' -• .

The petition ; is supported by the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Churches of Christ, Society of Friends, and Roman Catholic churches and has been organised by the MethodistPresbyterian public-ques-> tions committee.