The Auckland University Students' Association has withdrawn its offer of $5,000 for a citizen's arrest of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - but another student group has offered double the amount.
Dr Rice arrived in Auckland late on Friday, in the first such high-level visit to take place in almost a decade.
Police warned the Auckland group that the challenge was irresponsible and anyone who attempted to penetrate police lines of security could face serious consequences. District Commander Superintendent Brett England called for the challenge to be withdrawn immediately.
Association president David Do had said that though a successful citizen's arrest of Dr Rice seems unlikely, the challenge was not a prank, but a statement of strong feelings against what the United States has done to the people of Iraq.
However on Friday, Mr Do said the group decided to withdraw the promise of $5,000 on grounds of public safety.
Victoria University Students Association president, Joel Cosgrove, says he is disappointed by the move, and has doubled the amount on offer to $10,000.
