Dinner for the Secretaries-General of the UN and the Commonwealth

To view images from the dinner, click here

Mihi, acknowledgements and welcome

Rau rangatira mā. E huihui mai nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou, kia ora koutou katoa.  Distinguished leaders gathered here, I extend a warm greeting and good health to you all.

Your Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations and Mrs Ban; Your Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Mrs Sharma; distinguished guests otherwise, Ladies and Gentlemen: Janine and I welcome you all to Government House Auckland for this dinner.  This is the first formal occasion that we have hosted in our new role, and so it is a rather special one for us, as I hope it will be for you all.

As Governor-General I, together with Janine, have the honour to welcome you both, Mr Ban and Mr Sharma, on behalf of all New Zealanders and to thank you both for visiting us in New Zealand.  Your being here resonates with us in many important ways.  However, you maybe aware, we are a little distracted at the moment because New Zealand is about to host the Rugby World Cup.  The event is being characterised as one with “a stadium of four and a half million people,” so you may have to forgive some of us if the conversation veers from international relations to the prospects for various teams, and especially the All Blacks!

The Pacific Islands Forum and Pacific issues

Your Excellencies, your visit to New Zealand coincides with the Pacific Islands Forum which began in Auckland today and which you are both attending.  I understand, Mr Ban, that you are the first UN Secretary-General to attend the Forum and I am sure Pacific leaders will be keen to engage with you on issues of importance to the region.  Many Forum members are also Commonwealth members and they will be eager to discuss issues of mutual concern with you Mr Sharma, particularly in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth next month.

This gathering of leaders from throughout the Pacific marks the 40th anniversary of establishment of the Forum.  It is a time to celebrate the Forum’s many successes, as well as to reflect on the many challenges the region continues to face.  As New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John Key, noted in a recent speech, while the Forum is “an enduring institution that had surpassed the expectations” of its founders, the focus now is squarely on turning the region’s potential into prosperity.

New Zealand is proud to be a founding member of the Forum and to support our Pacific neighbours.  Over time, the Forum has worked to foster regional co-operation and integration, and it will continue in its aims of  stimulating sustainable economic growth and development, as well as enhancing the region’s political governance and security. 

New Zealand and international organisations.

New Zealand’s involvement in the Pacific Islands Forum reflects our wider commitment to international organisations and multi-lateralism.  Attempting to list the organisations that we participate in or to list those New Zealanders who have been involved in a variety of international organisations is difficult because there are so many.

With the United Nations and the Commonwealth, both promote fundamental core values and essential goals including the promotion of democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and constructive development.  The UN, of course, has a critical and overarching responsibilty for international security. 

New Zealand is privileged to be a founding member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth, and we value the opportunity to make contributions to their operation.  New Zealand’s Prime Minister in the 1940s, Peter Fraser, played a pivotal role in writing the United Nations Charter.  Currently the Rt Hon Helen Clark is a senior member of Secretary-General Ban’s management team, and serves as Administrator of the UN Development Programme.  My predecessor as Governor-General, the late Sir Paul Reeves, who sadly died a few weeks ago, served as the representative of the Anglican Church to the United Nations.  He also served as the Commonwealth’s special representative tasked with encouraging the Fijian regime to return to democracy.  And former Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Donald McKinnon, was Mr Sharma’s predecessor as Commonwealth Secretary-General.

These examples of individual New Zealanders’ work with international organisations reflects more than their personal contribution.  They also reflect our history of democratic participation and the advancement of human rights.  While New Zealand is a young country by international standards, we are an “old” democracy.  All New Zealanders, regardless of race, gender, wealth or religion have had the right to vote in national elections since 1893.

Just as individual New Zealanders have been honoured to assist with initiatives both organisations undertake, I also know that being part of the community of collective action that comes with membership of the United Nations and the Commonwealth is important to New Zealand because both organisations will always have a central role in facilitating multi-lateral responses to complex issues. The UN and  Commonwealth have a laudable record of promoting democracy and development and working to bring peace and stability to troubled lands. None of these issues or goals can be seen in isolation.  No one nation can hope to address them alone. 

As the Chief Observer in southern Lebanon with the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organisation in the mid-1990s, and later as New Zealand’s Chief of Army and Chief of Defence Force, I have seen New Zealanders serving as UN peacekeepers, wearing the blue beret.  Our soliders, sailors, airmen and women, police and civilians take pride in working alongside counterparts from other nations to bring peace, stability and development around the globe.

Conclusion

Your Excellencies, I once again welcome you and your delegations to Government House and to New Zealand.  I trust you enjoy the hospitality of the House this evening, and wish you all the best for your engagements in New Zealand.  As an aside, by my count this is the third welcome you both have received at the House, and with that achievement you now, in our culture, become part of our extended family.  No reira, nga mihi ki a korua. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai, kake mai!