Celebration of Rt Hon Winston Peters’ tenure as Foreign Minister

The diplomatic corps, senior officials and politicians gathered at Parliament’s Grand Hall on the evening of 1 December 2020 to celebrate Rt Hon Winston Peters’ tenure as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister.

The following is a readout of the speech delivered by former Foreign Minister Winston Peters.

‘Continuity and Consistency’

Rt Hon Winston Peters, Grand Hall of Parliament, 6pm, 1 Dec 2020

Prime Minister, Ministers Mahuta and Sio, their ministerial and parliamentary colleagues, members of the opposition, the Diplomatic Corp, Chris Seed and his Ministry staff, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

Thank you for this reception. No preceding bridge run makes it a special pleasure.  

Sovereign governments have agency to adapt or transform domestic policy settings as they see fit, bound only by their own judgements about what is possible and what is not.

In foreign policy, in contrast, government agency is far more prescribed by the inter-dependent nature of the life of nations. New Zealand cannot simply live alone in peace and prosperity. Our own well-being is entwined with the well-being of other nations, near and far from our shores.

Their vital interests will be different from ours, some markedly so.

Understanding these differences – in history, culture and economic development – is key to advancing our interests while enhancing our fraternal bonds with other nations.

Moving nimbly to rhythms not of our own making adds layers of complexity not seen in other policy spheres.

What guides the diplomatic dance?

Taking the world as it is has guided New Zealand foreign policy ever since we began charting our own course. We need to have our eyes wide open.

But we have, on occasion, also challenged others to see how the world could be.

By doing so we forged an independent foreign policy.

Part of that independent foreign policy has been a strong preference for a rules-based order and a commitment to collective action to solve global challenges.

As a small, trade dependent state, New Zealand has always sought to secure peace and prosperity through multi-lateral institutions and meetings.

What has underpinned our foreign policy has been consistency and continuity.

Both are pursued with great professional skill by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Consistency and continuity of New Zealand’s Foreign Policy is also strengthened by those objectives overwhelmingly transcending party interest.

Country first, party second. That is the New Zealand way.

It is a honour to represent that tradition this evening.

This is also an opportunity to wish Minister Mahuta the very best for her tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Best wishes are also extended to Minister Sio.

You will face challengers but know that there are many willing people, in-and-outside this building, whose experience is available to you should you ever require it.

It has been a personal privilege to twice serve as New Zealand Foreign Minister.

Over that fifteen year span, sharpening our foreign policy focus on our neighbourhood, the Pacific, has assumed ever greater strategic importance.

The ‘Blue Continent’ is a special place. It has hitherto not been conquered. It has hitherto been too big. There have been three failed attempts over the past 250 years but the Pacific still stands free for its diverse peoples.

But future historical pressures should not be taken for granted. Pacific challenges are multi-faceted and they run deep.     

New Zealand’s strong strategic refocussing was reflected in the last government through the ‘Pacific Reset’ and ‘shifting the dial’ on overseas development assistance.

We were proud of shifting ODA – on a track to a miserly .23 of Gross National Income when we came into government, the lowest in the OECD – up to .32 of GNI in 2020.

The last time New Zealand reached .30 of GNI was between 2005 to 2008 and we left  office this year with ODA at its highest level since the 1970s and the Third Labour Government.

It’s imperative this progress is maintained. After all, developed countries are rightly judged by the extent to which they assist those in need, especially in their near neighbourhood.

With Covid-19 ravaging the Pacific economies, that matters more than ever.  

Underpinning the Pacific Reset are five principles; understanding, friendship, mutual benefit, collective ambition and sustainability.

These principles guide our active diplomacy with our friends in the region. They also serve as a guide for our relations with all nations and will prove even more crucial as we navigate the Covid-19 disruption. 

President John Kennedy compared foreign relations to human relations, saying ‘they are endless.’ He added, ‘and the solution of one problem usually leads to another.’

Kennedy was right. They are endless.

One’s experience also strongly reinforced that forging warm personal relationships enhances the conduct of our foreign policy.

New problems will always emerge, but by forging mutually respectful and warm personal relationships, each one becomes easier to negotiate to resolution.

To take just two examples, we were proud during our term to see our relations with Japan and Indonesia become ever closer. We welcome our friend’s renewed focus on the Pacific. New Zealand will benefit from it.

The capital that is built from warm personal relations is now Minister’s Mahuta and Sio’s to grow.

Minister, you are well served by your Ministry. They revealed the essence of ‘public service’ as they dealt with great professional skill a one-in-77 year consular effort, moving 150,000 people in and out of the country after Covid-19 struck.

Our diplomats are more vital than ever as our post-Covid world accentuates regional and global challenges.

The last government got them the resources they needed and the return on investment is now yours to shape Minister.

Finally, while it’s been a privilege to be Foreign Minister, it has also been fun.

Minister Mahuta, while you will find the travel punishing there is fun to be had and the trick is to grab it with both hands when the occasion presents itself.

What worked for one person might, however, not work for another.

But what does work are some fundamentals.

Being intellectually curious about history and other cultures helps understanding;

Having a good office with smart people to challenge your thinking seriously helps decision making, and;

Knowing that New Zealand’s democratic and national values and the foreign policy that project them to the outside world are the rock upon which you stand.

Because foreign affairs is about international relations one is confident that every rational New Zealander, regardless of their politics, supports this sentiment.

Go well Ministers.