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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 20. 29th August 1973

Uni. Council Creaks Into Action on Apartheid

Uni. Council Creaks Into Action on Apartheid

The University Council has decided to sell its shares in the New Zealand insurance Company and South British Insurance Company, both of which have subsidiaries operating in Southern Africa.

At its meeting last Monday the Council considered a request from the National Anti-Apartheid Committee and the New Zealand University students Association to participate in the shareholders' campaign against NZI and South British involvement in apartheid.

The Council's decision to sell the shares followed the defeat of a motion moved by the Rev. Godfrey Wilson to send representative to the 1973 Annual General Meetings of the two companies to urge that they withdraw their operations from Southern Africa. Godfrey Wilson said that information provided by NZUSA about the operations of NZI and South British clearly established that the companies were investing in an "unjust and exploitative situation". This was particularly shown as under South African law they were compiled to invest in government and local body loans, which only entrench the [unclear: Vor]ster regime and do nothing to foster real development for the country's black majority.

The only reply to the Rev. Wilson's state[unclear: m]ents came from the head of the Physics department, Professor Walker. He said that the issue was not "tearing this institution to pieces" and therefore Council did not have to make a decision on it. He wondered "whether this Council should go out of its way to spend time debating matter of this kind", and said it would be very difficult to ascertain the average view of students and staff on the question. Not that most of the members of the University Council usually worry about the views of staff and students when making decisions.

Professor Walker concluded by saying that he would vote against the motion, "not judging at all the moral issues involved", but in view of the large agenda left before the meeting!

Only Godfrey Wilson, one staff member, and student reps Lisa Sacksen and Graeme Collins supported the motion. The other members present voted it down and quite a few, like History Professor Hamer looked very sheepish about it.

Godfrey Wilson then moved that the University sell its shares in the two companies. This resolution was carried without debate. Graeme Collins followed up by moving that if the shares had not been sold by the time of the A.G.M.s' of the two companies, the Council should send a representative to the meetings. Pro-Chancellor K B O'Brien objected that this motion was out of order because it suggested that "somebody" would defy the Council's decision to sell the shares. Of course O'Brien did not mention that the implementation of Council decisions has been impeded in the past. As reported in the June 27 Salient, Council members accidently discovered at the June meeting that a decision of the May meeting to send a letter to the Associaiton of Commonwealth Universities had not been carried out.

Drawing of a very old graduate

After ruling Collins' motion out of order the Chancellor, Mr Simpson, said that in the event of the shares not being sold Collins could move his motion again at a later meeting. "But you'll find that by the time of the next meeting the shares have been sold", he added.

The Council's discussion about its investments in South British and NZI, and its previous debates about participation in the Association of Commonwealth Universities' Congress in the event of South African and Rhodesian attendance (see Salient, May 30th and June 27th and July 12th) have clearly showed that the majority of its members have no concern about, and precious little understanding of important political and social questions. Professor Walker's comment, that because the question of the investments in South British and NZI was not "tearing this institution to pieces", the Council didn't have to make a decision on it, shows that students must take firm action to remind the University Council of its political and moral obligations.