Mr Lange’s letter to Rugby Union

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 2

Mr Lange’s letter to Rugby Union

The text of the letter of the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, to the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, is:

Dear Mr Blazey, Before I meet the council I wanted to put in writing what I see as the basis of our discussions. I propose to make copies of this letter available to all councillors at ohr meeting. You were at the time of the 1981 South African tour of New Zealand straightforward in expressing your view that the function of the New Zealand Rugby Union was to administer an amateur sport. You wrote in response to a letter from the then Minister of Foreign Affairs that the Rugby Union had neither the knowledge nor the desire to make political decisions, and that these were a matter for the Government. I respect that view.

There can now be no suggestion that the burden of decision about visits to New Zealand by teams and individuals representing

South Africa will be placed on any sporting body. The Government has acted to implement its considered view that it is in the best interest of New Zealand that such visits do not take place. The Government is totally opposed to sporting contact with South Africans outside New Zealand. All New Zealanders are, however, entitled to the freedom to leave and return to New Zealand, and no New Zealand Government could or would interfere with that right.

I heard you say from Paris last week that as well as considering the effect of its decision on rugby, the council would also think about New Zealand and its welfare. The fact that councillors are meeting to discuss the issues with me shows plainly the council’s willingness to consider all the implications. The interest of New Zealand is what I wish to urge on you and your fellow

councillors at our meeting. That interest is my responsibility, just as the administration of rugby is yours. My assessment of that interest has convinced me that a rugby tour of South Africa would do New Zealand great damage, and that for that reason the tour must not proceed. I look forward to discussing the reasons for my view, and any other matters councillors may wish to raise, at our meeting. The point I shall make is that while the first concern of rugby people will be rugby, they cannot reasonably disclaim responsibility for the consequences that will inevitably flow from their actions. I shall convey to councillors the view of the Government and Parliament of New Zealand that an All Black tour of South Africa would seriously harm New Zealand interests at home and abroad. That is why the Government must state plainly: the tour must not proceed.—Yours sincerely, David Lange.