Commonwealth Day

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Professor Pat Walsh, Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University; John Wilkins, Head of the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat; Peter Adams, Chief Executive of NZAID; Anthony Scott, President of the Rotary Club of Wellington; Elected representatives and senior civil servants from throughout the Commonwealth; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Guests otherwise notably the Rt Hon Don McKinnon and his wife, Clare de Lore; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to attend this Commonwealth Day luncheon, organised jointly by the Rotary Club of Wellington and Victoria University of Wellington.  There is a serendipity in today's events of Commonwealth Day and the University hosting the 14th Commonwealth Advanced Seminar in association with the Commonwealth Secretariat and New Zealand Agency for International Development.

As Governor-General, it is a matter of great pleasure to welcome our Commonwealth guests to Wellington and to New Zealand.  I trust that as well as attending the seminar programme that you will also have the opportunity to explore more of our beautiful country while you are here.

That this gathering should be jointly organised with the Rotary Club of Wellington is equally appropriate.  Rotary International aims to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace through the fellowship of business and professional people working in service to others.  It is a goal which meshes well with those of the Commonwealth.

I also have a personal link to the Rotary Club of Wellington as an honorary member.  Had I not been appointed Governor-General in 2006, I may well have had the handsome burden of the presidential chain worn by Anthony Scott as Club President.  Indeed, there is something of a view among members that I accepted the job of Governor-General as an elaborate way of avoiding the presidency!

But more seriously, I would like to take this opportunity to speak about the Commonwealth and in particular its role as a voluntary association of countries committed to improving standards of public administration.

As I am certain many will know, the Commonwealth is this year celebrating its 60th anniversary.  It was at a meeting in April 1949 of the British Prime Minister and representatives of the then seven Dominions of the British Empire that the London Declaration was agreed upon.  

The declaration, the result of six days of deliberations, saw India become a republic the following year but retain her membership of the Commonwealth.

The final communiqué was innovative and bold in its reach. It stated that King George VI would be recognised as the"symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and, as such, Head of the Commonwealth."  By India's agreement with that status, the other Commonwealth countries in turn recognised India's continuing membership of the association.

But the Declaration also repeatedly emphasised the freedom and equality of its members was not just in their relationship to the Head of the Commonwealth, but also in what was described as their co-operative "pursuit of peace, liberty and progress".

The London Declaration marked the beginning of the modern Commonwealth.  With time it was transformed from an Imperial gathering into an international organisation through which countries of diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and which co-operate within a framework of common values and goals.

The Commonwealth is now a unique association of 53 independent states consulting and co-operating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding.

It includes countries from all corners of the globe, rich and poor, small and large. In the 60 years since the Declaration, the relevance and value of the relationship has repeatedly been reaffirmed and consolidated. 

You would be surprised if I didn't say that, but why should it be so?  Why does such a diverse range of countries, that host an equally diverse range of cultures, religions and ethnicities, remain so linked?

Why does an association made up largely of republics have a monarch as the head of the association?

And why have several other nations that do not have constitutional links with the Commonwealth applied to join?

And why has it endured when so many other groupings of nations-the Soviet-backed COMECON being just one of several examples-have come and gone?

The answers to these questions are not simple and the answers will be different for different countries.

If I could suggest an analogy, one might say the Commonwealth is something akin to the humble bumblebee.  Popular folklore has it that an insect with a relatively big body and relatively small wings shouldn't be able to fly, let alone get off the ground. But still, the bumblebee not only flies, but does so quite successfully blissfully ignorant of its detractors.

And so, while a host of factors suggest the Commonwealth should not work, the reality is that it works very well.   And trying to put one's finger on that almost intangible quality is difficult.  As Queen Elizabeth once remarked:  "It is easy enough to define what the Commonwealth is not. Indeed this is quite a popular pastime."

A key reason why the Commonwealth works and why it has endured is history.  It is a reason that populists who live in the here and now might dismiss, but history binds us together in ways that are often difficult to break.   Almost all members of the Commonwealth were either British colonies or, in one of history's bizarre twists, colonies of some of those colonies. 

The British Empire, on which it was said the sun would never set, has gone.  Colonialism left a mixed legacy.  Many nations, New Zealand included, continue to struggle with the legacy of that time.

But it also left behind common Westminster legal, parliamentary and democratic traditions and values.  Those customs, largely born in a civil war in England more than 300 years ago, have continued to develop and have been adapted to meet local conditions.  Despite the different ground in which they have been sown, the similarities remain and values such as the Rule of Law continue to serve us well. 

The Empire also left behind a common language. English is increasingly the language of international diplomacy and commerce.  One intriguing example can be seen in the current award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Set in the land of my grandparents, call centre workers in Mumbai, mimic English and Scottish accents for telephone customers thousands of miles away-often with unexpected results!

And then there are other less tangible links.  In addition to the Commonwealth Games every four years, the Empire left behind some unusual sporting traditions.

Many of us-and I include myself in this category-have an unusual interest in a game where a hard ball is thrown at someone defending three sticks in the ground with a bat.  Likewise, there are two variants of a game where an illogically shaped oval ball is thrown and occasionally kicked around a field.  Cricket, rugby and rugby league all began in England but give joy to people, as participants and spectators, throughout the Commonwealth. 

All these factors come together in a matrix where some factors will be more important to some countries and less important to others. Many members of the Commonwealth, particularly in the Caribbean and Pacific are small states.  For the voices of small states to be acknowledged, let alone heard, in international forums is not easy.  

Membership of the Commonwealth therefore provides the leaders and ministers of smaller states with easier access to the leaders some of the world's larger states at regular Commonwealth summits.  It also occurs without the hugely formal protocol that dominates many other international gatherings.  The value of that access should never be underestimated. 

And of course, there is the respect that all leaders have for the knowledge, wisdom and sage advice that Her Majesty The Queen brings to such gatherings as Head of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth also provides practical, hands on assistance to many of its members.  Many are of the view that aid from developed to developing countries is about financial assistance and, indeed there are many valuable aid programmes operated by the Commonwealth. But transfer of knowledge is equally important and in that, we all much to learn.

While the Commonwealth includes some "old" democracies such as Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, there are also many states where democratic traditions, due to factors such as size and wealth, need assistance.

The Commonwealth Advanced Seminar is an example of this transfer of knowledge at work.  I understand this is the 14th such gathering and some 30 participants from 20 countries are involved.

The programme was instituted by the Commonwealth Secretariat in recognition of the public sector's centrality to democracy and good governance.

I have some firsthand insight of such a knowledge transfer in practice.  From 1995 to 2005, I was an Ombudsman, handling complaints from the New Zealand public about maladministration and requests for official information.   During his time, I was involved in the delivery of a Commonwealth Secretariat funded programme for newly appointed Ombudsmen and Ombudsman investigators.
 
The ombudsman programme was a recognition that ensuring accountability and transparency not only means adopting professional standards, but also having independent and effective oversight agencies, such as ombudsmen, to ensure that those standards are met.  

In a practical sense, ombudsmen provide a simple and affordable means by which members of the public can make complaints about public sector agencies.  But in a wider sense, they play a vital role in developing and setting standards of civil, political and human rights.

As New Zealand was the first non-Scandinavian country to adopt the Ombudsman-concept in 1962, we therefore have much institutional knowledge to offer.  Even so, the transfer of knowledge was not all one way.

New Zealand's ombudsmen largely deal with an apolitical civil service where, for example, cases of corruption are rare.  It was a privilege, however, to work with colleagues from nations where transparency and accountability are still taking root.  Their knowledge opened my eyes to different ways of thinking, and to a better understanding of the issues these nations face.  In turn, it helped mould the programme to better meet the needs of the participants.

In conclusion, the Commonwealth exists and continues to thrive-despite its detractors because it meets real needs of real people. The Commonwealth today is quite different from what it was when it marked its 25th anniversary in 1974 or its 50th anniversary ten years ago and I'm sure it will continue to evolve. 

What is vital, however, is that it continues to give practical expression to the ideals of the London Declaration, in that it works in "pursuit of peace, liberty and progress".  It is by striving to practically live these ideals rather than just talk about them, that we make them relevant to the Commonwealth's citizenry.
  
And on that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.