KEY POINTS:
In late January, Air New Zealand introduced a new branding campaign. "Amazing journeys, every day" was the theme of advertising that, according to the airline, created "powerful dreamlike sequences and encourages viewers to have a romantic connection with, and sense of pride in, their country". In the same
month, the national carrier advised the most senior figure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that it was planning to be true to its word. Its own amazing journey would take the form of a charter service for Australia's Ministry of Defence. The consequences of that, seven months later, are more nightmarish than dreamlike for the Government.
There is no doubt that Air New Zealand recognised the sensitivity of carrying Iraq-bound Australian military forces to the Middle East. Its query about whether this would be against Government policy went not to the lower ranks of the ministry but directly to its head, Simon Murdoch. Curiously, Mr Murdoch did not relay this to the Government. He merely told the airline that the tender did not appear to break policy, and asked to be kept in touch. That caveat suggests Mr Murdoch had reservations.
Air New Zealand said yesterday that, contrary to an earlier statement by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, it had updated the ministry as requested. Chairman John Palmer said this included details about the charter flights, when they were taking place and what they comprised. Presumably, that means somebody in the ministry was aware that Australian military personnel would be carried on two flights to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in June.
Given that, Mr Palmer seems not to have seen a reason to raise the issue with Government ministers during the regular run of meetings. Air New Zealand obviously felt it had fulfilled its obligations by meeting the ministry's request. Nonetheless, it must have been astounded that, given the nature of the flights, the matter was never raised by the Government.
Mr Murdoch has, as had to be the case, accepted responsibility for the debacle, and apologised to the Government. In a report to Mr Peters, he says that he was provided only partial information about the charter flights. "At the time I did not recognise that the contract, if concluded, could become a matter of sensitivity for ministers in so far as the charter to Kuwait might be associating New Zealand with stabilisation operations in Iraq to an inappropriate degree."
That might explain why Mr Murdoch failed initially to inform the Government. But it does not clarify why a man with such well-honed instincts for sensing, and sidestepping, potential gaffes would not have recognised the significance of the detail supplied later by the airline. Given that, it is perhaps a moot point whether the more specific information about the flights was directed to, or ever passed on to, Mr Murdoch. This could all be the product of nothing more than a communications breakdown within the ministry.
It is, nonetheless, embarrassing for a Government that has won kudos for standing aside from its traditional allies, Australia, Britain and the United States, in the war in Iraq. Indeed, the timing could hardly have been worse, given Labour MPs' dedication to highlighting National Party leader John Key's statements on the conflict. That journey will surely now be abandoned. As will Air New Zealand's transporting of Australian troops to the Middle East. These charters may have been commercially attractive but they were always politically untenable - as the airline knew all along.
