Queen's Birthday Honours: Sir Jim's focus on 3 new jobs

Sir Jim and Lady Marcy McLay with dog Bella at Matakana. Photo / Nick Reed

Sir Jim McLay - Knight companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to business and the state.

New knight Sir Jim McLay starts his three new jobs in Auckland tomorrow and his first task is to plan in detail what they will entail.

Such is the trust the Government has in Sir Jim, a 70-year-old former politician and businessman turned diplomat to the United Nations who led New Zealand's successful bid for a Security Council seat.

The knighthood is in recognition of his past deeds, but the title may serve him well in the next chapter of his career.

From Foreign Affairs' offices on the Auckland waterfront, he will be special adviser to Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, special envoy for Prime Minister John Key and be accredited as New Zealand's representative to the Palestinian Authority.

"One of my first tasks is actually to plan out the detail of how they will be executed," Sir Jim told the Herald.

He says he prefers "Jim" to "James". "No one has ever called me James. Even my mother didn't call me James."

He and Lady Marcy McLay arrived back home in Matakana, near Warkworth, on Friday. For the past five years home has been the ambassadorial apartment in New York, which they shared with their cairn terrier Bella.

Sir Jim was "gob-smacked" when he heard about the knighthood.

He saw it as a tribute to the large teams who worked on the UN campaign in New York and Wellington and in various posts around the world.

And though the public did not see a lot of the work they did, diplomats worked hard for their country. "I'm extremely impressed with the work that is done by diplomats, particularly young diplomats who work extremely long hours ... negotiating issues that are often of very considerable importance to New Zealand."

Sir Jim has been honoured before, both times by Labour Governments. In 1987 he was made a companion of the Queen's Service Order after retiring from Parliament. He had been Attorney-General, Justice Minister, Deputy Prime Minister to Sir Robert Muldoon and National Party leader from 1984 until he was deposed by Jim Bolger in 1986. In 2003 he was made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of his work as the nation's representative to the International Whaling Commission from 1994 to 2002.

Early in John Key's leadership of the National Party, the Prime Minister referred to Sir Jim as a political mentor.

It is clear Mr McCully has faith in Sir Jim's ability to add muscle to New Zealand's international agenda in its next 18 months on the Security Council, especially in terms of the bid to get the council to play a more active role in bringing peace to the turmoil in the Middle East - where Mr McCully is headed this week.