Dinner for Heads of Diplomatic Missions

May I start by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening and the sun has set (sign)

May I specifically greet you: Your Excellency, Miss Seetoh Hoy Cheng, High Commissioner for Singapore to New Zealand and Deputy Dean of the Diplomatic Corps; Your Excellencies otherwise;  Simon Murdoch, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for my wife Susan and I to welcome you to Government House Wellington this evening, for this dinner for the Diplomatic Corps.

I particularly wish to welcome to the Capital those Ambassadors and High Commissioners who are accredited to New Zealand from Canberra and have travelled to Wellington for this event.

When I first held a dinner for Heads of Mission in August 2006, I had been in office as Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand for less than three days.  It is now a little more than 18 months since I was sworn in and at last count, I have in the intervening time welcomed 37 Heads of Mission to New Zealand.

While I am personally known to many members of the diplomatic corps through previous links with the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, it is a particular pleasure to see the Heads of Mission whose credentials I have received since taking up Office. 

If you pick up most atlases and look at the map of the world, you are confronted with a familiar image—they show the Americas on the left, Europe and Africa in the middle, Asia on the right, Antarctica at the bottom with Australia and New Zealand on the lower right. 

However, if you take a globe and place New Zealand in the middle, you can get a quite different view, and as you are accredited here you will be conscious of this.  With the exception of Australia and Papua New Guinea, the tip of South America and the frozen expanse of Antarctica, New Zealand is surrounded by the wide Pacific and the island nations that are dotted over it. 

We are in a period of time where, technology in particular, is leading to very real change in the concept of distance.  A consequence of this, with which we are all grappling, is that of adjusting to the risks, and opportunities, that changes in the concept of distance are bringing.

This illustrates that New Zealand is a nation that is as far removed from the world's largest population centres, as it is possible to be—Sydney and Melbourne notwithstanding!  But as a trading nation which relies on sending its exports to markets many thousands of miles away, we rely on well-developed relationships with people throughout the world.  As doyen New Zealand diplomat Gerald Hensley once wrote:

"Geography has given us a moat of such size as to make us virtually invulnerable to invasion.  But history and its economic consequences have given us global markets and distant cultural roots."

In other words, while our immediate security concerns are relatively small, our broader security interests are exceptionally wide, and probably wider than any country of our size. This is one of the key reasons that New Zealand has more than 50 posts throughout the world, has formal accreditations to more than 90 countries, and maintains diplomatic relations with most countries of the world.  It is also why our country welcomes your accreditation to Wellington. 

We have long been dependent on international trade and at one level our security, and certainly our economic security, is dependent upon it. While New Zealand may have a relatively small population and be isolated geographically, it has never shied away from taking a principled stand on any of the issues that have vexed our world—however distant they might be.

As a founding member of the United Nations, New Zealand and New Zealanders, played a key role in its formation and in formulating many of its key documents, such as the Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  As a nation that had lost far too many of our young people fighting in the name of freedom and democratic values in two world wars and other conflicts, we sought a means to prevent such a major conflagration occurring again. 

Then, as now, New Zealand backed multilateralism, not for its own sake, but because it believed that it offered the best way for all nations to achieve security, prosperity and the preservation of freedom.  New Zealand continues to believe the United Nations, and multilateral organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, are the preferred means for nation states to meet and peaceably settle their disputes. 

But multilateralism, like any relationship, requires commitment and nurturing.  By stationing diplomats throughout the world, we gain a better understanding of each other's concerns, customs and history, so that when we do business or meet in international forums, we are better able to negotiate agreements all can live with.

And it is the networking that occasions such as this offer that we all have the opportunity to converse and build understanding, which is the basis of diplomacy.  Without the relationships diplomacy nurtures, we can never have lasting peace.

Many wits—including diplomats—have made quite unflattering comments about your craft.  But one that I like is attributed to the American poet Robert Frost who once said:

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age."

In its humorous way, Frost's comment underlines the key skills of a diplomat.  The British politician Harold Nicolson once wrote that truth, accuracy, calm, patience, good temper, modesty and loyalty were the qualities of ideal diplomacy and of an ideal diplomat.  When it was suggested he had forgotten intelligence, knowledge, discernment, prudence, hospitality, charm, industry, courage and tact, he is said to have replied:

"I have not forgotten them. I have taken them for granted."

The diplomatic corps makes an important contribution to New Zealand, and particularly to Wellington.  I know that many of your missions have strong links with the community, including various programmes in our universities, while fundraising events, such as last year's successful Diplomatic Charity Ball that supported the Child Cancer Foundation, have always been well received in the general community.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that New Zealand values its diplomatic relations with you and I wish to reaffirm our nation's commitment to active engagement on international issues, not only that directly affect New Zealand but also impact on global community.  Being a small player in our globalised world has both advantages and disadvantages, but I encourage you to actively work with us on many points of common interest.

Your Excellencies, I wish you all well during your time either in New Zealand or whilst accredited to our nation. I trust you enjoy our hospitality at Government House this evening. I personally value my links with the diplomatic corps and look forward to maintaining that relationship in the future.

I would will now yield the podium to Miss Seetoh Hoy Cheng, High Commissioner from Singapore and Deputy Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, but before I do, I will close in New Zealand's first language, Maori, by offering you all greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.