Claim that hard words had effect

Press, 29 May 1978, Page 16

Claim that hard words had effect

Comment from the Capital

By

CEDRIC MENTIPLAY

Some fourteen months ago, political commentators were shuddering at the apparent gaffe perpetrated by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) in referring to the President of the United States (Mr Carter) as a peanut farmer.

According to them, this faux pas seemed to be compounded n t speech which Mr Muldoon made in Auckland in mid-April last year, in which he gave a further description of members of the Carter family, and at the same time defined the growth of trilateralism in United States policy, and its effect on the Pacific Basin generally and New Zealand specifically. Generally, the news media used the “peanut farmer” references, and discarded the rest. In the interests of balance and fair judgment, however, "The Press” published the full speech on its leader page (April 23, 1977). More than a year later I asked Mr Muldoon how, in hit view, the trilateral views of the United States Administration were working out, and what had been the real effects of his speech. Specifically, what meaning did he take out of the word “trilateralism?” “Trilateralism in the context in which I was speaking a year ago was an apparent preoccupation of the Carter Administration with Europe, the United

States and Japan,” Mr Muldoon answered. “That message got home very strongly there, mainly because of the strong language of the speech which I made, which I know got to the White House.

“It resulted in the visit of an Assistant Secretary of State (Mr Warren Christopher) through South-East Asia and the Pacific to the A.N.Z.U.S. talks, and his reiteration to us of the fact that the Americans had not forgotten our part of the world, although up to that time they’d given every indication they had done so.”

Mr Muldoon said that the same United States view was repeated to him in Washington. “They very much went out of their way to impress the fact that they had not forgotten us. There is no doubt that there has been a great deal more American acitivity in respect of this part of the world subsequently.” He emphasised that so much was this so that when the United States Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs (Mr Richard C, Holbrook) visited New Zealand with the United States VicePresident (Mr Walter Mondale), he spoke with Mr Muldoon.

“Richard Holbrook . is one

of the very idealistic men whom President Carter has brought in,” Mr Muldoon explained. “He was actively anti-Vietnam involvement, and resigned from a job in the earlier Administration because of it. His present post includes New Zealand and Australia.

“He said that following our discussions he had had a look at the South Pacific and the Forum countries and had set up a separate desk in the State Department to deal solely with the South Pacific. Now this is quite important; they have a team in the State Department which is not concerned with South-East Asia or the Far East, but directly and totally with the South Pacific.”

Summing up, Mr Muldoon said that the effect over the past year had been to move the Administration to a greater positive interest in the South Pacific area. “They would have been influenced, I know, by Phil Habib (a top career man in the State Department, who served in New Zealand in the United States Embassy). He is a great admirer of this country, and he became deeply involved in this issue when I raised it in this speech,” Mr Muldoon said. “I had a long talk with him in Washington and he

advised the new people that they should give more attention to this part of the world.” Mr Muldoon thus believes there has been a great change in United States attitudes to New Zealand in the past twelve months. He also believes that the United States is supporting the New Zealand case well with the Japanese.

His views on his talks with the Japanese envoy (Mr Suzuki) in Melbourne have been somewhat distorted by political reaction. He described Mr Suzuki’s offerings as “very small in quantity, but very significant in the way they have come. This means that the Japanese have finally accepted our point of view.” • Explaining this, Mr Muldoon said that during his visit to New Zealand, Mr Mondale had stated that the Carter Administration was against agricultural protectionism, both externally and internally. “He was reluctant to spell it out to the press, as we realised here,” Mr Muldoon said with a smile. “Now, in the last day or so, the Carter Administration has come out formally against these restrictive bills, particularly the Benson Bill. That was really what he was waiting

from Japan, the United States wanted the European market opened up. “They want the Common Agricultural Policy scrubbed,” Mr Muldoon said. “Thus they have to take the same line in either direction. They have direct interests in Japan, but their biggest interest is in Europe. In this they could come into conflict with us, for one item they want to get into Europe in greater quantity is poultry, and here they may come up against our lamb to some extent.” This American policy of access to Europe is a longstanding one, of course, “But it is consistent with New Zealand policy. Mr Muldoon is convinced that the declared United States attitude was one of . the reasons for the changes in the Japanese attitude, as indicated by Mr Suzuki in Melbourne. According to all information, United States produce is meeting all kinds of difficulties in getting into the Japanese market, though theoretically the United States has received some concessions. The Japanese way of doing business is not an easy one. In Washington last November, Mr Strauss assured Mr Muldoon that he would push the New Zealand case with the United States one. In New Zealand, Mr Mondale confirmed that this had been done, and that the Japanese had been pressed to be more accommodating to New Zealand.

for and why he could say nothing during his time in New Zealand.” "He told us that in confidence while he was here. But now they are actively lobbying to have these restrictive bills defeated.” Mr Muldoon sees this as part of a commitment by the Carter Administration to this part of the world, and an acceptance of the problem of agricultural exports. He described the United States Special Representative for Trade (Mr Robert S. Strauss) as “a very bright and forthright fellow, who is certainly putting the pressure on in Japan.” He explained, however, that apart