Gurbrinder Aulakh – 
The recent criticism of Foreign Minister Murray McCully in the Saudi sheep deal is inappropriate. Did we shower any accolades when the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea was signed?
We should not miss the point that Mr McCully was not making personal monetary gains through this deal. He was acting in the best interests of our country. We cannot micro-manage our representatives when they are dealing with complex foreign policy.
Delicate diplomacy
Placating the angry customer requires delicate diplomacy. Sometimes one has to give away ground to make some headway in contentious negotiations. It may appear, at the time that the opponent is winning the battle, although it may ultimately be losing the war to you.
We do not yet have the details of the issue but $11 million might be nothing compared to the long term gains that we may have achieved in comparison.
The matter is now to be investigated by the Auditor-General.
Unnecessary fuss
However, we need to be very cautious that in our zeal to be over vigilant; we do not start questioning each and every reasonable and prudent judgement of our diplomats.
Leaving them hanging to dry for their genuine errors of judgements may prove to be counterproductive. It may then lead to a point where the negotiators may hesitate to take action at a crucial point in time to clinch a deal.
Such an effect may impede valuable economic gains that might be achieved for the long run by conceding something in the short.
Gurbrinder Aulakh is a Barrister & Solicitor at George Bogiatto. He is also Deputy Chairman, Auckland Regional Migrant Services and member on the boards of many social and community organisations. Mr Aulakh clarifies that the views expressed in the above article are his own and many not represent those of his law firm or those of the organisations with which he is involved.
Website: www.aucklandcitylawyers.co.nz
