The road from politics to diplomacy has a mixed record in the past 50 years. Photo / Mark Mitchell
OPINION:
As Trevor Mallard prepares for a diplomatic posting in Dublin and Phil Goff prepares for one in London, there is little dispute about who they should emulate.
It is less clear-cut as to whose example not to follow.
Former Labour deputy leader Annette King is doing an outstanding job representing New Zealand in Canberra by all accounts, including that of foreign affairs officials, the National Opposition party and the former Foreign Minister Winston Peters who appointed her, despite his loathing for political appointments.
King’s three-year term was extended for another two, until the end of next year.
Goff’s appointment has not yet been announced by Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, although the Herald on Sunday carried the news in March this year, and he started his training at Foreign Affairs this week.
Trevor Mallard, who gives his last speech in Parliament at 4.15pm on Thursday, has been one of the more controversial, mainly because he has played his politics roughly in his 35 years as an MP.
Appointments are sometimes used to ease someone out of politics, or to repay a political debt, or to reward someone for dedicated public service.
The skills they have developed as MPs can be valuable in the work of a diplomat, which is to make connections that will benefit New Zealand, be it with politicians, business, education or in other parts of society.
In the decades of political appointments of mainly but not entirely National and Labour MPs, almost none has been recalled early because of a change of Government.
The main parties have honoured the appointments of previous Governments with a notable exception - newly elected Prime Minister Rob Muldoon ordered former Labour deputy Prime Minister Hugh Watt home early from London and replaced him with former National Minister Doug Carter.
The main posts for political appointments are London, Washington and previously Ottawa but they have also included the United Nations in New York, Rome, and the Cook Islands.
Mallard is not the only hard-nosed MP turned diplomat. David Lange once quipped that the softest thing about Anne Hercus was her teeth, before she was appointed as New Zealand’s top diplomat to the UN.
She later went on to become a Special UN Representative to Cyprus.
She was only the second political appointee by New Zealand to the United Nations, if the definition is that the appointee is not a career diplomat. Sir Leslie Munro, previously a lawyer then editor of the New Zealand Herald, served in the UN from 1952 to 1958, apparently with some distinction.
It appears he then decided to return home and become Prime Minister of New Zealand. But Keith Holyoake had other ideas. Having been elected a National MP, Munro remained on the backbench, although his well-known drinking habits may have had as much to do with that as the political threat.
The other most notable political appointee who was not previously an MP was Sir Edmund Hillary as High Commissioner to India, by David Lange. It was considered an inspired choice.
Not all diplomats come home. Dean Eyre, a former National Defence Minister in the Holyoake Government, spent a long time in Canada and eventually retired there to be close to family.
He was later pilloried by former ACT MP Rodney Hide for continuing to claim ex-MPs' international travel perks when he didn’t even live in New Zealand (that is before Hide was pilloried for claiming travel perks).
Ottawa used to be a post where both National and Labour regularly sent politicians but ever since former Mana MP Graham Kelly’s posting, professional diplomats have been used.
He was forced to apologise “unreservedly to all New Zealanders” as well as to his Foreign Affairs boss in Wellington, Simon Murdoch, for comments he made to a Canadian senate committee on fisheries.
In the course of speaking about New Zealand’s fisheries quota management system he made what he claimed were light-hearted comments about cannibalism among Māori, and beaches being strip-mined of shellfish by Asians and a congregation of Pacific Islanders.
Phil Goff was Foreign Minister at the time and was not amused.
Goff is among a fairly small group of politicians turned diplomats who have experienced diplomacy at close quarters as Foreign Minister, Trade Minister (both in Goff’s case) or Prime Minister.
Russell Marshall was Foreign Minister in the Lange Government and was appointed over a decade later by Helen Clark to London before former Speaker Jonathan Hunt was given the job. He was considered to be a “low-energy” diplomat.
Former Trade Ministers turned diplomats have included Joe Walding, who was New Zealand’s first minister to officially visit communist China in 1973. Lange posted him to London as High Commissioner but he died shortly afterwards.
More recently, Lockwood Smith was a former Trade Minister and former Speaker who was posted to London. And Tim Groser was a diplomat, turned politician and Trade Minister, turned back to diplomat. John Key appointed him to Washington where someone’s former political status can open doors.
Three former Prime Ministers have served in Washington: Bill Rowling, after being ousted by David Lange, Jim Bolger after being ousted by Jenny Shipley, and Mike Moore, who was appointed by National after he had served as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.
Occasionally, posts have been given to political party officials, as happened with former Labour general secretary John Wybrow, who was appointed to Canada and former National president John Collinge who got London.
There was a time when New Zealand’s diplomats comprised sitting MPs. Before a professional corp of diplomats was developed, ministers led legations - posts which are not yet embassies.
Walter Nash, for example, served as both Finance Minister and head of the first legation to Washington between 1941 and 1944 but was considered very difficult to work with.
Pacific countries, specifically, Niue and the Cook Islands, have been favoured posts for political appointments. Former Alliance deputy leader Sandra Lee was posted to Niue, as was former National MP and former Wellington Mayor Mark Blumsky.
Former New Zealand First MP Brian Donnelly was posted to the Cook Islands where he had once been a teacher, but he died during his term, and National MP and Far North Mayor John Carter had a posting there too.
50 Years of Political Appointments
LONDONTerry McCombs (Lab)Hugh Watt (L)Doug Carter (N)Les Gandar (N)Bill Young (N)Joe Walding (L)George Gair (N)John Collinge (N)Paul East (N)Russell Marshall (L)Jonathan Hunt (L)Lockwood Smith (N)Phil Goff (L) TBC.
WASHINGTONFrank Gill (N)Lance Adams-Schneider (N)Bill Rowling (L)Jim Bolger (N)Mike Moore (L)Tim Groser (N)
ROMEPhil Holloway (L)Eric Halstead (N)
UNITED NATIONSAnne Hercus (L)Jim McClay (N)
OTTAWADean Eyre (N)Ed Latter (N)John Wybrow (L)Maurice McTigue (N)Jim Gerard (N)Graham Kelly (L)
CANBERRAAnnette King (L)
PACIFICSandra Lee (Niue) (ALL)John Carter (Cook Islands) (N)Mark Blumsky (Niue) (N)Brian Donnelly (Cook Islands) (NZF)
LOS ANGELESMaurice Williamson (N)
DUBLINTrevor Mallard (L)
Tauranga City Council is cutting 98 jobs to save $12.3 million and reduce rates.