Washington for career diplomats only—Labour

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 3

Washington for career diplomats only—Labour

PA Wellington Irt some diplomatic posts it is a definite advantage to have somebody with Parliamentary experience as head of mission, but Washington is not one of them, according to Labour’s shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr A, Ji Faulkner. Referring to reports that a retiring Cabinet Minister might be appointed to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, Mr Faulkner said yesterday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had several senior diplomats who could fill the post with distinction, and it made no sense to pass them by just to ease . a Cabinet Minister into a comfortable sinecure. “A significant difference exists between the task of the High Commissioner in Britain and our Ambassador in Washington," he said. “In Britain the members of the Cabinet with whom the High Commissioner would be expected to have top-level discussions are themselves elected Parliamentarians, whereas in Washington, the Cabinet is made up of persons appointed by the President.

“More than any other post, that of Ambassador to the United States demands the services of a career diplomat. The present incumbent and his predecessor, both of whom are senior members of the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have seen our relations with the United States

develop in the best possible light during their terms of office. ’‘There is no sane reason for changing a system that works so well, and we can only hope, that common sense and political understanding will prevail and that the Government will make an appropriate appointment In Washington,” Mr Faulkner said. The Minister of Defence (Mr Gill) would probably accept the post of Ambassador to Washington if it came his way, but he said yesterday that he would not expect anybody to ask him if he wanted the job: “1 am a military man, I am more used to being .told what to do,” he said. Speculation that the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) wanted him in the United States was for Mr Muldoon to answer, Mr Gill said. ’T have not been sounded out for the job, Mr Muldoon does not need to sound out senior members of his Cabinet,” Mr Gill said, while convalescing at his North Shore home yesterday, a week after leaving hospital. A clash appears inevitable should a politician be named to fill the post, which will become vacant next month when the present Ambassador (Mr M. Norrish)- returns to New Zealand to become Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The Washington post has come to be regarded as the top post abroad for career officers in the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, and the group representing them, the Foreign Service Association, opposes political appointments. The last four New Zealand envoys in Washington have all been senior men from the Ministry,