McCully Murray: General Debate 
McCully Murray: General Debate 
[Volume:631;Page:2916] 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY (National—East Coast Bays) 
: 
 Yesterday in this House Mr Peters tabled an email that poses serious questions about at least two members of this Parliament—not I hasten to say about Dr Brash. All the email reveals about Dr Brash is that he passed on an offer of assistance which was ultimately turned down. The tabling of the email though does raise serious questions about the judgment and motives of Mr Peters and Mr Mallard. People in Washington read New Zealand newspapers. Reckless and irresponsible comments by Ministers in New Zealand come at a cost to this country’s interests. Of Mr Peters in particular who holds the warrant of Minister of Foreign Affairs the most serious questions must be asked. He is the same Mr Peters who told us upon his appointment that his most important task was to resurrect the relationship between New Zealand and the United States and he is the same Mr Peters who then proceeded to travel almost everywhere in the world—except to Washington. 
Dr Brash by contrast has been to Washington. Dr Brash went to Washington to support Mr Goff Mr Cunliffe and leading New Zealand business people who were there to improve the New Zealand - US relationship. Dr Brash did that because he cares about the improvement of New Zealanders’ future wealth and security and he is prepared to put aside petty party politics in order to achieve that goal. Mr Peters has demonstrated to us by his actions yesterday that he does not do that—and that he will not. 
The Washington visit signalled an important turning point and an important development in the conduct of foreign affairs of this country because senior politicians from both the National Party and the Labour Party decided that New Zealand’s overriding interest in improving our relationship with the United States—our second-largest trading partner—should take precedence over narrow partisan politics. We worked in a bipartisan fashion to try to take the relationship forward. Mr Goff has been reported in the newspapers as taking some credit for that shift and I do not begrudge him that. There have been some signs of progress underlined by yesterday’s reported statement from assistant secretary of State Christopher Hill. 
The need to improve the relationship is a no-brainer; I would have thought even Mr Peters understood that. Every New Zealand serviceman or woman who serves in one of the trouble spots of the world would be safer if we could secure a relaxation of the current restrictions on the ability of New Zealand and US troops to train together—something Mr Goff has advocated recently. Every New Zealand citizen would be safer if we could overcome some of the obstacles in our defence relationship with Australia caused by US restrictions on access to its intelligence and technology. Every New Zealand citizen would be richer if we could over time achieve a free-trade deal with the United States to match the free-trade agreement secured by Australia 2 years ago. All of those projects are not short-term projects but are at the very best medium-term projects. They will not be achieved in the lifetime of one Government. That is why we must start now and must work together. 
Just yesterday assistant secretary Hill signalled that we are making some progress in the relationship. For any Minister of the Crown let alone the Minister of Foreign Affairs—the self-appointed champion of better relationships with the United States—to sink a harpoon into the very heart of our international interests and wantonly destroy the progress that is being made is utterly beneath contempt. Mr Peters will know because his officials and the US officials will have told him of the huge cost to this country of Mr Mallard’s reckless behaviour at the commencement of the last election campaign. The effect of Mr Mallard’s comments at that time introducing those about a bogus American bagman was to kill constructive dialogue with the United States cold stone dead. It has taken time and effort from Ministers on the Government benches from members on the Opposition benches and from business interests in this country to get things back on track. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I call the Rt Hon Winston Peters.