The Commonwealth Heads of State are the group of Prime Ministers, Presidents and other leaders of countries that belong to the Commonwealth. In 1977, they met in Auchterarder, Scotland, and agreed as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage sporting contacts with South Africa.
This resulted in the Gleneagles Agreement, which reinforced Commonwealth commitment to oppose racism. A sporting ban on South Africa by the Commonwealth was an effective idea, as many of the sports that white South Africans took an interest in were dominated by Commonwealth states, like rugby and cricket.
The Gleneagles Agreement was a cause of the 1981 tour protests because of its significance internationally. By going against international policy, New Zealand looked like it was, in a way, condoning apartheid. Robert Muldoon ignored Gleneagles, and said he had no obligation to follow it. Many New Zealand citizens were incensed at how the Muldoon government could so easily ignore something that it had signed, and felt they had international backing behind their protests. It lent extra fuel to the idea that the New Zealand government was wrong, and anti-tour protestors were right.
This resulted in the Gleneagles Agreement, which reinforced Commonwealth commitment to oppose racism. A sporting ban on South Africa by the Commonwealth was an effective idea, as many of the sports that white South Africans took an interest in were dominated by Commonwealth states, like rugby and cricket.
The Gleneagles Agreement was a cause of the 1981 tour protests because of its significance internationally. By going against international policy, New Zealand looked like it was, in a way, condoning apartheid. Robert Muldoon ignored Gleneagles, and said he had no obligation to follow it. Many New Zealand citizens were incensed at how the Muldoon government could so easily ignore something that it had signed, and felt they had international backing behind their protests. It lent extra fuel to the idea that the New Zealand government was wrong, and anti-tour protestors were right.
Peter Bromhead, 'Aren't you pinning this on the wrong bloke', 22 July 1981.
This cartoon shows Robert Muldoon giving a death certificate to a man representing the Gleneagles Agreement while on the floor a man, representing New Zealand's reputation, is committing suicide with a sword labelled 'the tour.'
Bromheads view is that by ignoring Gleneagles, New Zealand is indeed endangering its international reputation. By putting rugby over apartheid, New Zealand has made the choice to ignore the rest of the world's opinion, which can only lead to misery.
This view was proven when over 20 black African countries boycotted the Montreal Olympic Games, just because New Zealand was going to be there.