Diplomats, of course, are diplomatic. They are very careful to say nothing critical of their minister's views until after they retire, when from their many years of experience, typically far exceeding that of their former ministers, they can say what they think. Former NZ senior diplomat Terence O'Brien, who recently chose "hamfisted" to describe NZ's efforts to have Fiji excluded from UN peacekeeping missions, had 40 years with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Its present Minister, Murray McCully, has one.
O'Brien's overseas postings include the Cook Islands, Bangkok, London, Brussels (where he helped NZ gain favoured dairy product access to the EU), and the UN (where he helped NZ win a seat on the Security Council). He is the founding director of the prestigious NZ Centre for Strategic Studies based at Victoria University in Wellington.
O'Brien, according to his Wikipedia entry, "is known for his global view and passionate articulation of the role of NZ as an independent and free-thinking county with its own values and own way of doing things. [He] has always advocated that New Zealand pursue an independent foreign policy unencumbered by bias towards countries such as the United States. His outspokenness has won him both admirers and critics."
Fiji Village reports him as saying "NZ has to be more prudent, stressing that if they go around asking the UN not to take troops from countries that have a military rule, then they would have to ask the UN to remove Pakistani troops, Thai troops and the list can go on and on."
One wonders how many current MFAT diplomats and advisers agree and whether they are encouraged by Minister McCully to share share their views with him -- or whether they will have to wait until retirement. One wonders also whether Minister McCully will listen to O'Brien now, and how long it will take for NZ to have "an independent foreign policy unencumbered by bias [against Fiji] " Photo: Terence O'Brien, Wikipedia.
2 comments:
How many others in New Zealand have come to this conclusion? Trouble is as long as the Michael Greens are guiding NZ policy at DFAT, there will be no change of policy.Fundamentally, the policy is based on unfairness and a lack of proper consultation and analysis. After all, if you refuse to talk to the Fiji government, how will you hear its views? And, how thoughtful is any policy on Fiji?
Hmm. So much of foreign policy is driven by economic considerations. I wonder what Qarase promised the New Zealanders and Australians economically? PACER? PACER Plus? With no questions asked? Other than the Pacific, I don't see any great rush for New Zealand goods!!
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