Bob Jones: Nonsense from Trevor Richards

Recently the NZ Herald published a ridiculous article from Trevor Richards, a name probably meaning nothing to New Zealanders under about 35 years of age. Richards led the HALT (Halt All Racist Tours) movement in 1981, opposing that year’s Springbok rugby tour.

But it was not that of which he wrote, rather it was about Norman Kirk who as Prime Minister stopped the proposed 1973 Springbok tour. This action Richards claimed was pivotal in Labour’s 1975 election defeat.

That is nonsense. There were many reasons Labour lost that year, none relating to rugby. Richards could however Google then Prime Minister Bill Rowling’s election night concession speech in which Rowling laid the cause singularly at me and my well justified actions at the time.