By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor
The Prime Minister has reprimanded Alliance cabinet minister Matt Robson for unilaterally condemning American and British airstrikes against Iraq without consulting Foreign Minister Phil Goff.
Mr Robson, a junior minister in the Foreign Affairs portfolio, denounced the raids as an "arrogant use of power" and accused US President George W. Bush of trying to create a climate that made it easier to push through his country's controversial Star Wars-like national missile defence system.
The Alliance minister's statement on Sunday used far stronger language than that adopted by Mr Goff, his Labour senior.
It is not the first time Mr Robson's strong personal views on foreign policy have embarrassed the Government. Last year he accused the Indonesian Army of responsibility for the killing of a New Zealand soldier on the East Timor border - a statement that went far further than the Government's official line.
Helen Clark yesterday said she had reminded Mr Robson that Mr Goff spoke for the Government on foreign policy.
"Putting out statements without consulting the senior minister shouldn't occur."
Mr Robson had accepted her rebuke and she did not expect it to happen again.
Mr Robson made no comment except that there was not a substantial difference between his and Mr Goff's statements.
But New Zealand's official line now is to reserve judgment on the airstrikes pending more information from the United States and Britain on why they were necessary. The New Zealand Embassy in Washington and the High Commission in London have been instructed to approach those two Governments.
Meanwhile, along with other Western nations, New Zealand is questioning the long-term value of the strikes, saying they could prove counter-productive by generating sympathy for Saddam Hussein at home and abroad.
"I can be sympathetic to what may have motivated the United Kingdom and the United States in terms of maintaining a no-fly zone," Mr Goff said yesterday.
"That objective of smashing the radar installations will succeed in the short-term. The installations will be rebuilt but the world will be further away from finding a solution to the underlying problems."
National's foreign affairs spokesman, Max Bradford, said the public disagreement between the two ministers sent mixed signals to the international community.
"With Australia's Prime Minister due to visit New Zealand, the Government must get the differing views of its Foreign Affairs ministers sorted out so we don't look like complete idiots on the international stage."
The Greens' foreign affairs spokesman, Keith Locke, supported Mr Robson's criticism, saying New Zealand should speak out strongly.
"Phil Goff's response to date has been weak."
Robson gets his hand smacked over air-raid outburst
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