You could be forgiven for thinking that our only interest in other countries under this government, is how much money we can make out of them.
Yesterday, at an NZIIA seminar at Victoria University, I released our Foreign Affairs policy. MurrayMcCully had given the opening speech and every country or region he mentioned was couched in terms of our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with them, an emerging FTA with them, the desirability of an FTA or other bilateral economic agreement with them and how well we were doing because of them.
Don’t get me wrong – I am a great supporter of FTAs as long as we don’t concede our sovereignty and they can be negotiated in a more open way which engages the non-government sector as well. But for Labour, Foreign Affairs is also about peace, security, conflict resolution, disarmament, multilateralism, human rights, climate change, environmental protection and restoration, disaster relief, good governance and democratic representation, and most importantly, people to people exchanges and relationships.
Without a viable and secure planet, all the global supply chains you can think of count for nothing.
Our independent foreign policy is a source of great pride for us. It has been most enhanced in our history by great Labour Prime Ministers: Peter Fraser, Norman Kirk, David Lange and Helen Clark. We will build on that tradition.
We will bring human rights and a commitment to multilateral international decision-making back to the fore again. They have been languishing on the back burner under the National government.
Have a look at the policy – comments are welcomed.
Oh – and for those who wonder why there is no mention of Afghanistan – that is simply because our position on that is well known, has been well reported and has been the same since late 2005. In case you have missed it (!) : Labour would not have sent the fourth rotation of SAS troops back to Afghanistan. The SAS should no longer be deployed there. A Labour government will bring them home. We will progressively withdraw our Provincial Reconstruction Team as well, in an exit strategy worked out in consultation with other forces with whom we are working in Bamyan. The fight can only be won in Afghanistan if the government there wins the hearts and minds of the people. That hasn’t happened. Time to come home.
Hi Maryan, as NRT says, why isn’t the big foreign policy issue, Afghanistan, discussed at all in your policy?
Also I am a bit troubled that you haven’t responded to my question about Samoa which I have asked you four times now.
Will you be commenting on your position on human rights in other countries? Why haven’t you spoken up about the discriminatory “anti sodomy” law in Samoa, which the Samoan law commission is looking to reform? How can you credibly speak up against human rights abuses far away when you won’t speak up about them in our own back yard?
@appleheart – didn’t you read the blog? Besides, Afghanistan is covered in our Defence policy which will be out soon.
Also – don’t you read your email? I replied to you about the Samoa situation (or more correctly, others like it) on my ODA blog for all to see. Then I sent you an email personally when it was clear you hadn’t read my comments, to tell you that I had replied. So that is appleheart 4 – Street 3. Close enough.
You say you support multilateralism but you congratulated the USA on the summary execution of Osama Bin Laden. I’m confused.
Let’s not forget that it was Labour who sent the SAS to Afghanistan. Was that a mistake Maryan?
Curious , the situation changed in Afghanistan, but more importantly its not a good idea to become involved in a countries civil war, especially where the government you are supporting is corrupt as Karzai is .
Hello Curious, self-proclaimed NZLP stalwart that you are.
Yes – the SAS were deployed to Afghanistan on Labour’s watch. One only need read the wikileaks concerning NZ to understand the extent that American foreign/trade policy has influenced the NZ government’s policies over generations (Smith’s Dream, anyone?)
Notwithstanding, Labour are indicating a clear departure from the policy of ongoing deployment in Afghanistan. We have seen the first two fatalities in the NZSAS deployment under National’s watch. Whenever Smile and Wave is questioned about whether the ongoing deployment is advisable, in light of the New Zealanders dying in Afghanistan, he deflects the question with a “stay the course” one-liner and deflects genuine debate about the merits of the ongoing deployment by implying it is an insensitive debate to have in light of the SAS casualties.
So Curious, stalwart member of the NZLP that you are, are you now prepared to endorse the Labour policy (announced here) or would you follow National’s policy, including continued endorsement of the agenda in the middle east?
Your stalking horse antics grind my groats. Act like a human being, quit subverting the party you falsely purport to be a member of, and bring the SAS home, already.