Williams Andrew: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Williams Andrew: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1810. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First) 
: 
 This is an unmitigated disaster and New Zealand First opposes the manner in which this National Government is decimating the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade with the effect of undermining and placing at huge risk the credibility of New Zealand in our important markets and with our strategic allies and partners.  
I rise not only as a member of Parliament but as someone with previous experience having been a trade commissioner and vice-consul for Belgium for 10 years between 1998 and 2007. During that period of time I had personal experience in the consular corps and in the diplomatic corps of the value of our trade commissioners of the value of our diplomats and of the value of having front-line people in foreign posts around the world. I certainly saw the impact that Belgium had around the world in terms of its posts. I was its representative here in New Zealand and I certainly saw the value and the gains in its economy as a result of having front-line people and properly resourced posts around the world to do that work.  
Also in my former life in the meat industry for many years I saw the importance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in terms of getting access to many of our markets around the world. I started off in the days of Amalgamated Marketing when it opened the markets in Russia Iran Jordan and all those other places. It was very much working hand in hand with the likes of the ambassadors and the ministry people around the world to help open those doors for the early markets for New Zealand around the world.  
That continues and it is a continuing important part of the New Zealand economy. This is an economy that depends on trade. This is an economy that depends on us playing our part in the global market and quite frankly this is a complete undermining of New Zealand’s front-line troops. The Government keeps talking about keeping our front-line troops; this is the undermining of our front-line troops around the world.  
This is also a situation where the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr McCully has basically hung his chief executive out to dry. He brought in Mr John Allen to restructure the ministry—and certainly there was some fat in the ministry and there was some need for some restructuring—but basically now having held that chief executive on the end of a string for several years he has hung him out to dry. This is the first non-diplomat to head up the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and now Mr McCully is blaming that very first non-diplomat for the fiasco that we see within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade now.  
Forty-nine of our 53 most senior diplomats signed a letter protesting the change process that identifies major risks with the proposals including “the absence of any analysis … of the net impact of the changes … on NZ’s external interests”. This is our top diplomats saying this that there was an “absence of any analysis … of the net impact of the changes … on NZ’s external interests”. That is almost verging on treason—the situation where we are seeing our external interests undermined in this manner. Also the wives and partners of our diplomats those important support people around the world have complained bitterly about the way this change process is being executed.  
What was meant to be a way of clearing out some of the extravagant dead wood in the diplomatic corps has backfired on this National Government and this Minister and this Government are responsible. We are now seeing an exodus of some of the best in the Foreign Service who are finding better jobs outside the diplomatic corps such as in academia in the private sector in commerce and in trade. There is a serious loss of institutional knowledge and experience that is of immense value to New Zealand. Morale in our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is at an all-time low.  
Meanwhile the Meat Industry Association Fonterra and other major export groups have expressed grave concerns at the impact on our Foreign Service and on our nation’s ability to foot it on the global stage where diplomacy and trade are vitally important to a small trading nation like New Zealand. If we do not grow our exports and contain our imports then we as a country will continue on a very slippery slope of ever-increasing deficits.  
Under the details of this Appropriation Bill I note that it says: “This appropriation is limited to the purchase of policy advice and representation directed to the management of New Zealand’s foreign trade relations with other countries bilaterally and in regional organisations including using New Zealand’s international connections to facilitate …”. 
Report noted.