Passport withdrawal legal but unlikely

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 4

Passport withdrawal legal but unlikely

The only legal sanction open to the Government if the Rugby Union went ahead with the tour would be to withdraw the All * Blacks’ passports, but the Government would not do that, said the head of the political science department at the University of Canterbury, Professor Keith Jackson, in Christchurch last evening. “What Mr Lange has said seems somewhat confusing. He told them not to go. Then he said he was waiting to see what their decision

was because he could not stop them. I think what he is doing is saying not to go, but that they still have the constitutional right to go,” said Professor Jackson.

“He said ‘don’t go’ because it is against New Zealand’s interests, but he is not going to withdraw passports.” By using the strongest possible language, Mr Lange would be able to convince the African Governments and people in New Zealand that the Government was doing everything possible to

stop the tour, Professor Jackson said.

A spokesman for the Christchurch office of Hart said that planning for a comprehensive mobilisation against the tour would go ahead on the assumption that the tour invitation would be accepted. Hart’s chairman, Mr John Minto, will begin a speaking tour of the South Island from Christchurch early today, but will miss Christchurch this time because he spoke at a rally in Cathedral Square on Friday.