McCully's $26,000 charter plane to Myanmar

Murray McCully. File photo / Natalie Slade

A three-day trip to Myanmar by Foreign Minister Murray McCully is to cost taxpayers $26,000, despite imminent cuts to ministry staff.

Mr McCully left yesterday for the reclusive Southeast Asian state, where he will meet with his Burmese counterpart, Foreign Minister U Wanna Maung Lwin and other high-level officials in the capital Naypyidaw.

He'll also meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the country's former capital of Yangon tomorrow.

The trip comes amid criticism of proposed cuts to about 300 ministry staff.

There's been speculation among those affected could be New Zealand's consul in Cairo, Barbara Welton, who has been heralded for risking her life in a tense child custody dispute in Algeria last month.

A spokesperson for Mr McCully told Fairfax Media it will cost $26,000 to charter a plane take the minister and his entourage from Bangkok in Thailand to Naypyidaw.

She said the group would be "unable to fly in to Naypyidaw on commercial airlines".

"Chartering a small plane has become a standard method of entry into Naypyidaw. The decision was taken on the recommendation of New Zealand's ambassador [Bede Corry], who advised against commercial air and road options on safety and security grounds," she told Fairfax Media.

The spokesperson said Mr McCully had not used a charter plane before.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs website said there is "high risk" around Myanmar's borders with China, Laos and Thailand, and "some risk" elsewhere in the country, "due to the unsettled political situation and threat from terrorism and we advise caution".