Fran O'Sullivan: PM's cutting edge takes a big swing

You could almost hear the sound of a tall poppy being chopped.

Day One of Knowledge Wave 2003 - The Leadership Forum, and the Prime Minister's scythe was busy laying about the "elites" who had not signed up to her incremental vision for New Zealand.

University of Auckland vice-chancellor John Hood set the scene minutes earlier with an incisive speech questioning whether there was sufficient urgency and action on display to achieve the bold target of getting New Zealand back into the top half of the OECD.

Hood seized on a Herald poll which found 51 per cent of New Zealanders were not confident the country's leaders had a growth strategy to achieve the OECD target.

There was plenty more of an upbeat nature.

But the essence of Hood's opening address to the three-day forum was a challenge to the Government - and 450 leaders present - to lift their game ... and to take part in "mature discussion in which personality politics and publicity-seeking prejudice are left at the door".

Fond hopes.

Helen Clark does a great line in body language.

Resplendent in a stylish green silk jacket, she arrived fashionably late as is her wont - too late to hear Hood's address.

Clark articulated her vision for New Zealand - government of the people for the people (not just the elite class).

But by mid-speech she was bogged down in a tick-box recitation of her Government's achievements measured against the recommendations of the 2001 Catching the Knowledge Wave conference.

It was left to Team New Zealand CEO Ross Blackman to gently ease the pressure valve.

Said the syndicate boss to Clark: "If you come out, don't wear that colour. Green is an unlucky colour on the water."

But Clark is as skilful as any Alinghi sailer in avoiding dead air, and she was off before Mike Moore had a chance to wax on about New Zealand's place in the world.

The absence of a body did not stop the former prime minister from throwing his punch.

Moore's success on the international stage as director-general of the World Trade Organisation has given him a platform to speak on international affairs, including our own.

But his call for New Zealanders to effectively support a war against Iraq came on the day New Zealand spelled out its position to the UN that a case for war did not exist.

The most thought-provoking speech came from Australian High Court Judge Michael Kirby. Labelled a "judicial comic" by Sir Robert Muldoon when he suggested 20 years ago that Australia and New Zealand should "replace our de facto marriage with the solemn ties of constitutional matrimony", Kirby pushed the case anew.

An outside view ... but one that the "elites" will increasingly accept, particularly if they feel shut out in their own country.

Herald Special Report - February 18, 2003:
Knowledge Wave 2003 - the leadership forum

Herald feature: