Laidlaw new Conciliator

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 1

Laidlaw new Conciliator

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington The new Race Relations Conciliator is the former All Black, Rhodes Scholar and diplomat, Mr Chris Laidlaw. He will begin work on July 10.

This is the second time the Labour Government has appointed a pakeha to the job, having appointed a Wellington school teacher, Mr Wally Hirsh, to replace Mr Hiwi Tauroa in 1985.

Mr Laidlaw was described by the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, as “a fine New Zealander” who would bring many qualities to the role. The Opposition spokesman on Maori affairs, Mr Winston Peters, said Mr Laidlaw was a “sickly white liberal” whose appointment would have very serious repercussions for the future of race

relations because he was obviously “a more than direct political appointee.” Mr Laidlaw was born in Dunedin and graduated from the University of Otago with an M.A. (Hons) in 1967. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University from 1969 to '1971. He was a member of the New Zealand Olympic swimming squad in 1960 and represented New Zealand Jat rugby from 1963 to 1970. . ; • From 1972 to 1977 he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving at posts in Fiji and France, and in 1977 was appointed special assistant to the executive director of the International Energy Agency of the O.E.C.D. in Paris. From 1978 to 1984 Mr Laidlaw was special assistant to the Commonwealth Secretary-General in London. In 1984, he became

adviser on foreign affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department and in 1986 became New Zealand Ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe, as New Zealand’s first head of mission in Africa. Mr Palmer said Mr Laidlaw had been involved with racial factors in Fiji and in international action to eliminate racial discrimination in southern Africa and the Commonwealth. Mr Peters said Mr Laidlaw was on record as supporting “a certain line which is not going to be regarded as respectable by a great number of non-Maoris and by a number of Maoris too.” ' “The line of sickly white liberalism he has been pushing in Africa has been of selective morality,” Mr Peters said. “He has no regard for the 46 soldierled black African Governments but spends all his time criticising

offences against humanity in white South Africa.”

In legislation to be introduced later this year, the Government plans to amalgamate the Human Rights Commission Act and the Race Relations Act.

This will enable Mr Laidlaw to be a member of the Human Rights Commission with responsibility for race relations. A new deputy Race Relations Conciliator would be appointed who could also have a role in the restructured commission, said Mr Palmer. He expected to name the deputy soon. The former deputy, Mr Kenneth Mason, a District Court Judge, has just retired. Amalgamating the commission with the office of conciliator would result in a more effective structure and better procedures for dealing with complaints, Mr Palmer said.