More funds, more diplomats in four years
Winston Peters
New Zealand’s foreign policy has long been characterised by the strength of its independent voice. As the Prime Minister said in Paris, “We are self-deprecating people, quick to downplay our relative importance, but in spite of that, one that has never been afraid to use its voice.”
As a small nation of fewer than five million people, skilled diplomacy has proven to be an essential part of protecting our vital national interests and securing domestic prosperity.
The State of the Ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade acts in the world to make New Zealanders safe and more prosperous. Its identity is rooted in our country’s values, and in highly professional service as it advances New Zealand’s interests, as it represents the nation’s face and voice overseas. Yet the Ministry has effectively faced a ten-year funding freeze before Budget 2018.
The Ministry also faced budgetary haircuts, or so-called efficiency returns to the Government which peaked at nearly $24 million per annum, but they were cuts by any other name.
Almost a decade of underfunding has started to bite, undermining our ability to maintain New Zealand’s independence as an international actor projecting our distinct values. An enormous amount of expertise and experience was lost as a consequence of the last government’s badly bungled restructure.
The country’s network of foreign posts expanded but without funding to adequately resource them. The resulting hollowing out of the ministry has left New Zealand with only 248 diplomats across 58 posts, weakening our ability to advance our interests and influence others.
To cite one example underscoring this point; in Manila, Philippines, New Zealand has just two diplomats in its Embassy. Australia’s Embassy has more than ten times that number. That is a gross difference irrespective of relative populations, and New Zealand’s interests are no fewer than Australia’s. Resources are essential to influence, and both for New Zealand have waned.
First steps in rebuilding our place in the world
Additional Spending
Today the government can announce its first steps to reverse this situation.
We have committed to $150 million, over four years, additional operational spending for MFAT in Budget 2018. This will among other objectives create 50 new full time positions to begin to restore our diplomatic presence across our missions, most particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The new staff will also strengthen our ability to represent our economic interests. As a trading nation this is critical for us.
This investment will also begin the process of rebuilding our reach and deepening the core of expertise in Wellington to support our diplomatic impact.
Embassy in Sweden
Second, we have committed new capital spending of $40 million bolster New Zealand’s overseas offices, including funding for one new diplomatic mission, in Scandinavia, and ensuring that our network of embassies is robust and secure.
The political and policy synergies between New Zealand and the Scandinavian democracies are significant and the government has provided $4.8 million in capital spending over four years to re-establish an embassy in Sweden’s capital. With shared democratic traditions, including proportional representation electoral systems, shared values, and political cultures that have produced a balance between freedom and equality which is the envy of most other nations, New Zealand and the countries of Scandinavia can do much more together in the world.
Role in the Pacific
An increased effort in the Pacific and enhanced funding of multi-lateral institutions is also important to strengthen New Zealand’s credibility with other nations and deepen key bilateral relations. This dimension is especially true for our relationship with Australia, the region’s largest donor, and the country closest to us at a time when we’ve never needed each other more.
More to come
Today’s announcement represents only the first steps of an adaptive foreign policy response. The Pacific reset and shifting the dial on ODA signals the government’s intent and seriousness about the need to do so.
The government’s boost in funding for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also recognises that its capacity needs to be restored so that the impact of New Zealand’s independent foreign policy is strengthened.
The government also knows that our sovereignty – freedom from interference or the control of others – is the essence of that independence. Protecting it relies upon our own self-respect and self-reliance. New Zealand’s voice, and through it, its independent foreign policy, will be stronger today because we are regaining our self-respect and can thus enhance our self-reliance.
Winston Peters is Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand. The above is a highly edited version of his Pre-Budget Speech in New Zealand Parliament on May 8, 2018.
(Picture of Winston Peters from file)
