Games berth assurance

Press, 31 March 1981, Page 3

Games berth assurance

New Zealand will not be excluded from the Brisbane Commonwealth Games next year if the -Springbok rugbytour of New Zealand goes ahead, according to a leading Games official. This assurance came from Mr Dick McGruther, a director of the Commonwealth Games Foundation. He was in Christchurch yesterday with a party of officials ' from the Brisbane Games to start a promotional tour of New Zealand. Mr McGruther said that invitations had been sent out last September, and New Zealand had accepted, along with African countries. “It is not up to our organising committee to withdraw invitations, or even consider it,” he said. Nor could Australia “in any form” do that. The general assembly of the Commonwealth Games, which meets every two years, is not scheduled to reconvene until next year. In regard to the decision to invite the Springboks to New Zealand, Mr McGruther said. “We haven’t got a role to play in that. We don’t have the power. It is a matter for New Zealand to sort out-”

There will be no special rates introduced for flights between New Zealand and Brisbane to coincide with the Games in October next year.

Mr Ken Scrivener, Games! co-ordinator for (Juntas ini New Zealand, said it was expected that between 8000 and 12,000 New Zealanders

would travel to Brisbane for the Games. However, it was not viable for the airline to offer cheaper fares.

“The economics of the situation were applied, and it was rejected out of hand,” said Mr Scrivener. He said that the matter had been discussed with Air New Zealand, the main rival for Qantas, and there was “no possibility” of a change.

New Zealand will have a three-month start on Australia when ticket sales for the jGames begin. Mr McGruther I said that sales in New Zea- | land would commence next July, but tickets would not Ibe available to Australians i until October.