Gleneagles Agreement
Key Historical Idea: New Zealand was under pressure from the commonwealth and signed the Gleneagles Agreement in order to break sporting ties with South Africa until it ended its policy of Apartheid.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting was held in Gleneagles, Scotland 1977. The meeting was held over the clarification of sporting links with South Africa and the commonwealth’s position on it. Muldoon resisted signing the declaration which would have committed New Zealand to ending sporting links with South Africa. Muldoon believed that South Africa would see how a country could have good race relations and that perhaps then it would willingly change its ways and end apartheid. The Final version of the Gleneagles Agreement stated that countries would ‘vigorously…combat the evil of apartheid….each government to determine, in accordance with its laws, the methods by which it might best discharge these commitments.’ New Zealand had no laws forbidding sporting contact with South Africa, therefore the agreement didn’t oblige them to do anything. Muldoon was forced to sign the agreement and committed New Zealand to withhold support for and take ‘every practical step’ to discourage sporting contact with South Africa. Muldoon sent the agreement with the preface to sporting bodies that ‘under a National government there will be no political interference in sport in any form’. He only told the Rugby Union that he disapproved of the tour, as that was all that was required of the agreement. The Rugby Union still issued an invitation to the Springboks in September 1980. Muldoon refused to intervene saying ‘politics should be kept out of sport’. 11 days before the Springboks arrived Muldoon promised not to cancel the tour. Therefore not really taking ‘every practical step’ to discourage sporting contact.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting was held in Gleneagles, Scotland 1977. The meeting was held over the clarification of sporting links with South Africa and the commonwealth’s position on it. Muldoon resisted signing the declaration which would have committed New Zealand to ending sporting links with South Africa. Muldoon believed that South Africa would see how a country could have good race relations and that perhaps then it would willingly change its ways and end apartheid. The Final version of the Gleneagles Agreement stated that countries would ‘vigorously…combat the evil of apartheid….each government to determine, in accordance with its laws, the methods by which it might best discharge these commitments.’ New Zealand had no laws forbidding sporting contact with South Africa, therefore the agreement didn’t oblige them to do anything. Muldoon was forced to sign the agreement and committed New Zealand to withhold support for and take ‘every practical step’ to discourage sporting contact with South Africa. Muldoon sent the agreement with the preface to sporting bodies that ‘under a National government there will be no political interference in sport in any form’. He only told the Rugby Union that he disapproved of the tour, as that was all that was required of the agreement. The Rugby Union still issued an invitation to the Springboks in September 1980. Muldoon refused to intervene saying ‘politics should be kept out of sport’. 11 days before the Springboks arrived Muldoon promised not to cancel the tour. Therefore not really taking ‘every practical step’ to discourage sporting contact.
“Heads of Government specially welcomed the belief, unanimously expressed at their meeting, that in the light of their consultations
and accord there were unlikely to be future sporting contacts of any significance between commonwealth countries or their nationals and South Africa while that country continues to pursue the detestable policy of apartheid.”- Gleneagles Agreement.
This cartoon by Peter Bromhead on July 22nd 1981 depicts Robert Muldoon pinning a death certificate on the Gleneagles Agreement while New Zealand's reputation commits suicide with dagger labelled 'the tour'. This would suggest that Muldoon was determined for the tour to go ahead as according to the Gleneagles Agreement all the New Zealand government had to do was disapprove of the Tour. Effectively he ignored the point of the Agreement and was destroying New Zealand's reputation.