Gill appointment ‘concerns’ F.S.A.

Press, 22 July 1980, Page 6

Gill appointment ‘concerns’ F.S.A.

JPA Wellington The Foreign Service Association will tell the Government that it is “very concerned” about the appointment of the Minister of Defence (Mr Gill) as Ambassador to Washington.

The association decided ■ this- after a special general in Wellington last evening. ' /The meeting was well attended’ by Trade and Industry Department members -as /well as Foreign Affairs membdrs,; ai/spokesman said.?. “The:; association ,is . very concerned - about the situa-:-tion. and;/will convey its’con/‘ceriiytd the Government/: in the‘/ appropriate way,” he ’ said. It ,is t expected that, this wilf/Be*lpassed< letter ; to Foreign (Mr Talbp/s). • In l appointing /,Mf Gill to Washington, the Cabinet had ■ passed oyer a Department of Foreign Affairs recommenda- . tibn<‘ df .the, senior diplomat experienced in trade negotiations, ' Mr : lan ■ Stewart. The three senior North American posts — Washington, Ottawa, and /New York — have now been filled by political appointees. . / Mr Gill said yesterday he is a life member of the Foreign Service Association, which looks after the interests of career diplomats. His membership dates to

his service in the New Zealand Embassy in Washington from 1957 to 1959, as Armed Services Attache. “When my name was mentioned some weeks ago I checked with the association to see if I was a paid-up member,” he said. “The president confirmed I was a life member.” «; But Mr Gill said he had not been invited to attend yesterday’s meeting of the association at which his appointment was discussed. The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) yesterday replied to criticism of Mr Gill’s appointment to the Washington job. .. “It< is the view of the Cabinet that at this time in our relationship with the United States, it is desirable that our Ambassador be someone who is close to the thinking of the Cabinet on our detailed relationship with the United States and who can concentrate his attention on relationships .with the Administration, that is to say, the White House and Cabinet, and Congress, leaving his supporting Foreign Affairs Department staff to

conduct the day-to-day relations with the State Department and other departments,” Mr Muldoon said. Mr Muldoon said Mr Gill was particularly well qualified for this post as he not only knew the thinking of his Cabinet colleagues but both in his service career and, more recently, as Minister of Defence, he had been intimately associated with the development of A.N.Z.U.S. since its inception. “As far as members of our foreign service are concerned, every one of them joined the service knowing that certain posts would be. filled from time to time by political appointees for the valid reasons that I have set-out.

“London has always had a political appointee and Washington had a political appointee as far back as the 19405, as well as subsequently." At a post-Cabinet press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Muldoon said no decision on either reshuffling the present Cabinet or bringing in a new member to replace Mr Gill had been made.