Impact on New Zealand's society
The 1981 Springbok Tour had a profound effect on New Zealand's society. One of the effects the tour had on New Zealand was that the image of rugby had been hugely impacted negatively as people saw rugby as something that damaged New Zealand's image due to the international recognition of the tour in which led to the boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
short-Term effects
One of the short-term effects of the 1981 Springbok Tour Protest's was the division between families & friends. Many people had their own personal opinions on the tour, and thus families and friends were torn apart due to their differences causing many arguments. The tour was a turning point in New Zealand society as it also showed the violence in which can escalate from a single event.
The tour also showed the sheer determination from the protestors, willing to put their bodies in harms way to send a message out to everyone; that they are willing to stand up for their beliefs. This shocked the New Zealand police as they were poised to harm the protestors in order to prevent further violence between the protestors and the rugby fans. The violence imposed on the protestors by the police had many effects on them which included physical damage due to the baton training they had received. This led to the protestors donning helmets in order to protect themselves.
Although debateable, it can be argued that the pro-tour movement had won their causes as the tour went ahead even in the midst of violence. The sheer determination of the anti-tour movement had not been enough and only resulted in the cancellation of two games which can be seen as a failure. The apartheid-regime in South Africa continued and the international community now looked down upon New Zealand for the tour taking place.
Another short-term effect of the 1981 Springbok tour was the general elections of 1981. Prior to the announcement of the tour, the votes were tightly contested however, Muldoon used the tour to his advantage in order to gain more support and to effectively push him over the line. His strategic harnessing of rural support led to the National Party holding onto power and it can be assumed that without this rural support, Muldoon could have possibly lost the elections.
The tour also showed the sheer determination from the protestors, willing to put their bodies in harms way to send a message out to everyone; that they are willing to stand up for their beliefs. This shocked the New Zealand police as they were poised to harm the protestors in order to prevent further violence between the protestors and the rugby fans. The violence imposed on the protestors by the police had many effects on them which included physical damage due to the baton training they had received. This led to the protestors donning helmets in order to protect themselves.
Although debateable, it can be argued that the pro-tour movement had won their causes as the tour went ahead even in the midst of violence. The sheer determination of the anti-tour movement had not been enough and only resulted in the cancellation of two games which can be seen as a failure. The apartheid-regime in South Africa continued and the international community now looked down upon New Zealand for the tour taking place.
Another short-term effect of the 1981 Springbok tour was the general elections of 1981. Prior to the announcement of the tour, the votes were tightly contested however, Muldoon used the tour to his advantage in order to gain more support and to effectively push him over the line. His strategic harnessing of rural support led to the National Party holding onto power and it can be assumed that without this rural support, Muldoon could have possibly lost the elections.
Long-term Effects
One of the long-term effects of the 1981 Springbok tour is that New Zealander's were opened up to the racism in which was shown to the Maori's of the country, forcing them to realise the inequality shown in their own country. New Zealander's began to take this into consideration, and thus attempted to push for equality in New Zealand and to stop all discrimination in the country. The tour helped draw the issues of prejudice and injustice in which has occurred in New Zealand's society. This led to the emergence of Maori-activists who saw similarities to the South Africans in which they had been discriminated, had a lack of respect for their culture by others, and through the land in which they lived on; economically they lived in poorer areas.
The fact inequality was strongly shown in New Zealand led to the re-emergence of the frustration of the failure of the government to honour the Treaty of Waitangi. This led to the emergence of Maori-activist groups and which effectively forced the government to create the Waitangi Tribunal in which was to settle historical grievances.
Though the tour had ended, many protestors had defected to other movements such as the anti-nuclear, homosexual equality and the Polynesian Panthers. These groups had thus been strongly influenced by the Springbok Tour movement to openly protest against ideas and to stand up for themselves publically to gain media attention to thus add more attention to their chosen causes. Thus a new found spirit of activism had emerged within New Zealand's society.
Economical effects
In preparations for the tour, the police commissioner, (a former All Black), believed he and the police were responsible for upholding the law by maintaining order. The police were set aside over $2.7 million for Operation Rugby to ensure that the police were able to do so. However the total costs for policing the tour blew out the figure and actually is estimated to be over $15 million. Therefore this shows that the tour came at a great cost for the government and only resulted in over 2000 arrests with most of these arrests being categorized as "trespassing" or "breaching the peace" thus just adding to the amount of money the tour was costing the government.