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High-level Australian anger at the furore over Air New Zealand's ferrying of troops to the Middle East has been seized upon as evidence New Zealand politicians may have gone too far with their attacks on the flights.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer made it clear to New Zealand's
High Commissioner in Canberra last week that he was unhappy with the way the matter was handled.
The message was accompanied by a clear statement that the Australian defence forces would not use Air New Zealand again.
National Party foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully said yesterday that the Australian Government was entitled to feel insulted.
"The ferocity and venom of the attack, particularly from [Defence Minister Phil] Goff but also from other senior Labour Party players, was such that you could only read it as a serious insult if you were on the Australian side of the equation," Mr McCully said.
"You don't go to the trouble of communicating in these terms with another Government unless you feel seriously perturbed and unless you want to put your concerns on the record."
Australian concerns are believed to stem from a feeling that criticism of the flights carrying their troops was also effectively a criticism of Australia's involvement in Iraq.
On this side of the Tasman the spat is being played down as the fuss over Air New Zealand's charter flights begins to die.
Confirmation that the national carrier, about 80 per cent owned by the Government, flew Australian troops to the Middle East that were likely destined for Iraq triggered a flurry of fierce comments last week.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen and Mr Goff were all upset to hear what the airline was doing, but it later emerged that Air New Zealand had alerted Government officials to its intentions several months ago.
None of these officials told their relevant ministers, meaning the politicians were caught unaware when news of the flights broke.
Over the weekend, Helen Clark put the fiasco down to a "bad hair day" for Foreign Affairs Secretary Simon Murdoch.
But Mr McCully said there had been damage in several areas from the affair, including to the Government's relationship with Air New Zealand, with Mr Murdoch, with Australia, and even with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who refused to rush to judgment early in the matter.
