A.L.P. takes

Press, 18 March 1982, Page 2

A.L.P. takes

■.-1 "1 NZPA staff correspondent Canberra The leader of the Australian Labour Opposition. Mr Bill Hayden, will make no more calls for New’ Zealand to be excluded from the Commonwealth Games at Brisbane. There was no way New Zealand could be excluded, he was told at a meeting of the Labour Party's executive held on Tuesday. According to party sources, the Labour spokesman on sport, Mr John Brown, made it plain to Mr Hayden that there was no action that could be taken under the constitution of the Games to exclude New. Zealand and that under the Tasman travel arrangements New Zealanders could not be prevented from entering Australia. It is believed that there was . a good deal of strong feeling expressed at the meeting and the upshot was that Mr Hayden will not take a verbal hard line on the matter again. Last' week in the Federal Parliament and on New Zealand television, Mr Hayden had made it clear he favoured New Zealand's being excluded if its presence imperilled the Games. "If the slackness, the political opportunism, and contrivances of Mr Muldoon and

his Government in New Zealand have been such as to imperil the Games, there should be no hesitation. New Zealand should be. made aware that it will not be allowed to participate in the Games." he said. The leader of the New Zealand Labour Party (Mr Rowling) said he disagreed with Mr Hayden. Mr Hayden, it is believed, explained to his party executive on Tuesday that he had made his comments because he believed the New Zealand Government could have stopped last year’s Springbok tour if it had wished but by not doing so it had helped apartheid and therefore action should be taken.

Mr Hayden’s deputy. Mr Lionel Bowen, took a softer line on the Games than his leader and from now on it is that which will prevail if the matter is raised.

Mr Bowen is not in favour of boycotts or bans and argues, that if anything i$ to be done at all, New Zealand athletes should be asked to state publicly their opposition to apartheid. Mr Bowen subsequently spoke with New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Cooper) and told him that so far as the A.L.P. was concerned the Hayden line was not applicable and that the “moderate” position now prevailed.