Prince Charles arrives in NZ amid controversy over tour's cost

Prince Charles arriving in Dunedin last night. Picture / Fotopress

Britain's Prince Charles arrived in Dunedin last night on the first day of a whirlwind tour of New Zealand that will take in penguins, paintings, St Pauls, and -- maybe even -- pubs.

The 56-year-old heir to the British throne was met by cabinet minister Pete Hodgson and Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin as he stepped off a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) jet at 8.20pm.

A small crowd of about 60 well-wishers waved and looked on, but it was not until Charles was whisked away from the airport by car -- about 10 minutes later -- that he leant forward to acknowledge the crowd with a wave and a big smile.


However, ACT MP Deborah Coddington is angry the visit of Prince Charles is being paid for by taxpayers, when Charles has a personal wealth in excess of a billion dolllars.


She says $250,000 has been set aside to cover the five-day trip.


Ms Coddington says she has no problem with Charles being in New Zealand, but there is no way the benefits of the visit can justify a cost of $50,000 a day.


Charles has just finished a five-day trip to Australia, which was overshadowed by a tour of the country by Denmark's Australian-born Princess Mary and scrutiny of his upcoming marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles.

The union has fazed some observers as the romance began before Princess Diana died.

Nine formal objections (caveats) were also filed yesterday in Britain against the marriage, and protesters in Sydney cried out "shame" and held up a placard showing pictures of Diana when he mingled with well-wishers on Friday.

However, not everyone has had it in for the wedding.

During his trip to Australia, an Alice Springs pub laid on a bachelor party for the prince, but their royal guest of honour failed to show up.

Regulars at Dunedin pub The Terrace -- determined to go one better -- have also laid on a "Great Southern Stag Night" of their own. Owner John MacDonald had said the night would have a "royal riding gear" theme, as well as a competition for the best Prince Charles impression. "We know a lot of his mates can't make it over, so we're also rounding up a few students and some rugby fans to pad out the crowd," he said.

A formal invitation was to be passed on to HRH by Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin this evening.

Charles has a hectic agenda on his last official trip before his April 8 wedding.

In Australia, he crammed five cities into as many days, and leaves Auckland for a two-day trip to Fiji on March 10 after stops in Otago -- March 5-7 -- and Wellington -- March 7-9.

While in Otago, Charles -- a committed Anglican whose mother, Queen Elizabeth 2, is the supreme governor of the Church of England -- will attend a choral Eucharist church service at St Paul's Cathedral on Sunday morning and visit Penguin Place penguin reserve and the Royal Albatross colony at Taiaroa Head in the afternoon.

On Monday, he will visit a Central Otago sheep station before flying to Wellington in the afternoon for a welcome at Government House.

In the capital, Prince Charles will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial, launch an urban design protocol at City Gallery and visit Te Omanga Hospice.

He will then fly to Auckland where engagements include visits to Auckland War Memorial and a primary school, and opening a children's garden in Auckland's Botanic Gardens.

During Charles' last visit to New Zealand in 1994, an anti-royalist attempted to attack the prince with a can of air freshener on Auckland's waterfront.

Police issued a statement on Friday saying they were taking "all appropriate security steps to ensure the safety" of Charles during his visit. Superintendent Rob Pope, who is in charge of security for the visit, said police planners had taken into account "a range of factors including the Prince's pending marriage, the global security situation and previous incidents during royal tours to New Zealand".

That was an apparent reference to a 1990 visit by Queen Elizabeth 2. During the visit a Maori protester threw a black T-shirt at her. On another occasion a militant activist dropped his shorts and bared his backside as she was driven by.

Police have gone as far as to ban a mobile health ministry caravan that was to have screened about 40 women for breast cancer in Wellington's Civic Square on Tuesday because Prince Charles will visit the capital's city art gallery in the square that day.

- NZPA