As goes Morrinsville, so goes the world?

It may be a stretch, but Jacinda Ardern started small in her first big-picture speech on New Zealand’s foreign policy.

Delivering the keynote address to the NZ Institute of International Affairs’ (NZIIA) annual conference, the Prime Minister said her childhood in the Waikato dairy farming town had provided an early taste of her place in the world.

“It would be easy to feel isolated from the world, impervious to what was happening around you.

“But the size of the town has rarely isolated anyone from the reverberations of international events: the removal of tariff protections right through to the 1987 stock exchange crash all had their impact.”

Broadening out to our international ties, Ardern largely stuck to the MFAT-approved script: Australia was “our only ally and closest friend”, our relationship with the United States “also fundamental”.

There was the slightest nod to the debate over China’s growing power and how that is being felt around the world.

Praising the country’s leadership in areas like climate change and trade liberalisation, she adhered to the standard line that New Zealand would “speak honestly and openly with our friends in Beijing” on issues of concern like the country’s human rights record.

Continue here to read the full article on Newsroom ||  February 28, 2018   |||