

Currently released so far... 12553 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
2011/05/01
2011/05/02
2011/05/03
2011/05/04
2011/05/05
2011/05/06
2011/05/07
2011/05/08
2011/05/09
2011/05/10
2011/05/11
2011/05/12
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
APECO
ASEC
AMGT
AFIN
APER
ACABQ
AORC
AEMR
AF
AE
AR
AGMT
AU
AY
ABLD
AS
AG
AJ
APCS
AX
AM
AMEX
ATRN
ADM
AMED
AFGHANISTAN
AZ
AL
ASUP
AND
ARM
ASEAN
AFFAIRS
AQ
ATFN
AMBASSADOR
AODE
APEC
ACBAQ
AFSI
AFSN
AO
ABUD
AC
ADPM
ADCO
ASIG
ARF
AUC
ASEX
AGAO
AA
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
AIT
AADP
ASCH
AORL
AROC
ACOA
ANET
AID
AMCHAMS
AINF
AMG
AFU
AN
ALOW
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
ACS
ADANA
AECL
ACAO
AORG
AGR
BEXP
BR
BM
BG
BL
BA
BTIO
BO
BP
BC
BILAT
BK
BU
BD
BRUSSELS
BB
BF
BBSR
BIDEN
BX
BE
BH
BT
BY
BMGT
BWC
BTIU
BN
CA
CASC
CFED
CO
CH
CS
CU
CE
CI
CM
CMGT
CJAN
COM
CG
CIS
CVIS
CR
CKGR
CHR
CVR
COUNTER
CIA
CLINTON
CY
CPAS
CD
CBW
COUNTERTERRORISM
CITEL
CDG
CW
CODEL
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
COE
CN
CARICOM
CB
CONDOLEEZZA
CWC
CACS
CSW
CIDA
CIC
CITT
CONS
CL
CACM
CDB
CDC
CAN
CF
CJUS
CTM
CBSA
CARSON
CT
CLMT
CBC
CEUDA
CV
COPUOS
CTR
CROS
CAPC
CAC
CNARC
CICTE
CBE
ECON
ETRD
EIND
ENRG
EC
ELAB
EAGR
EAID
EFIS
EFIN
EINV
EUN
EG
EPET
EAIR
EU
ELTN
EWWT
ECIN
ERD
EI
ETTC
EUR
EN
EZ
ETC
ENVI
EMIN
ET
ENVR
ER
ECPS
EINT
EAP
ES
ENIV
ECONOMY
EXTERNAL
EINN
EFTA
ECONOMIC
EPA
EXBS
ECA
ELN
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ENGR
ECUN
ENGY
ECONOMICS
ELECTIONS
EIAR
EINDETRD
EREL
EUC
ECONEFIN
EURN
EDU
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ECIP
ENERG
EFIM
EAIDS
EK
ETRDECONWTOCS
EINVETC
ECONCS
EUNCH
ESA
ECINECONCS
EUREM
ESENV
EFINECONCS
ETRC
ENNP
EAIG
EXIM
EEPET
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EUMEM
ETRA
ERNG
ETRO
ETRN
EINVEFIN
ICTY
IN
IS
IR
IC
IZ
IA
INTERPOL
IAEA
IT
IMO
IO
IV
ID
IRAQI
IEA
INRB
IL
IWC
ITU
ICAO
ISRAELI
ICRC
IIP
IMF
IBRD
ISLAMISTS
ITALY
ITALIAN
ILO
IPR
IQ
IRS
IAHRC
IZPREL
IRAJ
IDP
ILC
ITF
ICJ
IF
ITPHUM
INMARSAT
ISRAEL
IACI
IBET
ITRA
INR
IRC
IDA
ICTR
IGAD
INRA
INRO
IEFIN
INTELSAT
INTERNAL
INDO
ITPGOV
KWMN
KSCA
KDEM
KTFN
KIPR
KCRM
KPAL
KE
KPAO
KPKO
KS
KN
KISL
KFRD
KJUS
KIRF
KFLO
KG
KTIP
KTER
KRCM
KTIA
KGHG
KIRC
KU
KPRP
KMCA
KMPI
KSEO
KNNP
KZ
KNEI
KCOR
KOMC
KCFC
KSTC
KMDR
KFLU
KSAF
KSEP
KSAC
KR
KGIC
KSUM
KWBG
KCIP
KDRG
KOLY
KAWC
KCHG
KHDP
KRVC
KBIO
KAWK
KGCC
KHLS
KBCT
KPLS
KREL
KCFE
KMFO
KV
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFTFN
KVPR
KTDB
KSPR
KIDE
KVRP
KTEX
KBTR
KTRD
KICC
KCOM
KO
KLIG
KDEMAF
KMRS
KRAD
KOCI
KSTH
KUNR
KNSD
KGIT
KFSC
KHIV
KPAI
KICA
KACT
KHUM
KREC
KSEC
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCMR
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KNAR
KNUC
KPWR
KENV
KWWMN
KWMNCS
KPRV
KOM
KBTS
KCRS
KNPP
KWNM
KRFD
KVIR
KTBT
KAID
KRIM
KDDG
KRGY
KHSA
KWMM
KMOC
KSCI
KPAK
KX
KPAONZ
KCGC
KID
KPOA
KIFR
KFIN
KWAC
KOMS
KCRCM
KNUP
KMIG
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KTLA
KCSY
KJUST
MOPS
MARR
MASS
MNUC
MX
MCAP
MO
MR
MI
MD
MK
MA
MP
MY
MTCRE
MOPPS
MASC
MIL
MTS
MLS
MILI
MAR
MU
MEPN
MAPP
MTCR
MEPI
MZ
MEETINGS
MG
MW
MAS
MT
MCC
MIK
ML
MARAD
MV
MERCOSUR
MTRE
MPOS
MEPP
MILITARY
MDC
MQADHAFI
MUCN
MRCRE
MAPS
MEDIA
MASSMNUC
MC
NZ
NZUS
NL
NU
NATO
NP
NO
NIPP
NE
NH
NR
NA
NPT
NI
NSF
NG
NSG
NAFTA
NC
NDP
NEW
NRR
NATIONAL
NT
NS
NASA
NAR
NV
NORAD
NSSP
NK
NPA
NGO
NSC
NATOPREL
NW
NPG
NSFO
OPDC
OTRA
OIIP
OREP
OVIP
OSCE
OEXC
OIE
OPRC
OAS
OPIC
OTR
OMIG
OSAC
OFFICIALS
OECD
OSCI
OBSP
OFDA
OPCW
ODIP
OFDP
OES
OPAD
OCII
OHUM
OVP
ON
OIC
OCS
PHUM
PREL
PGOV
PINR
PTER
PARM
PREF
PM
PE
PINS
PK
PHSA
PBTS
PRGOV
PA
PORG
PP
PS
PGOF
PL
PO
PARMS
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PAK
POL
PPA
PINT
PMAR
PRELP
PREFA
PALESTINIAN
PBIO
PINF
PNG
PMIL
PFOR
PUNE
PGOVLO
PAO
POLITICS
PHUMBA
PSEPC
PTBS
PCUL
PROP
PNAT
PNR
POLINT
PGOVE
PROG
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PDEM
PECON
PROV
PHUMPREL
PGOC
PY
PCI
PLN
PDOV
PREO
PGIV
PHUH
PAS
PU
POGOV
PF
PINL
POV
PAHO
PRL
PG
PRAM
POLITICAL
PARTIES
POLICY
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PGGV
PHUS
PSA
PHUMPGOV
PEL
PSI
PAIGH
POSTS
PBT
PTERE
RS
RU
RW
RM
RO
RP
REGION
RSP
RF
RICE
RCMP
RFE
RIGHTS
RIGHTSPOLMIL
ROBERT
RUPREL
RELATIONS
ROOD
REACTION
RSO
REPORT
SENV
SNAR
SCUL
SR
SC
SOCI
SMIG
SI
SP
SU
SO
SW
SY
SA
SZ
SAN
SF
SN
STEINBERG
SG
ST
SIPDIS
SNARIZ
SNARN
SSA
SK
SPCVIS
SOFA
SAARC
SL
SEVN
SARS
SIPRS
SHUM
SANC
SWE
SHI
SYR
SNARCS
SPCE
SYRIA
SEN
SH
SCRS
SENVKGHG
TRGY
TSPL
TPHY
TSPA
TBIO
TI
TW
THPY
TX
TU
TS
TZ
TC
TH
TT
TIP
TO
TERRORISM
TRSY
TINT
TN
TURKEY
TBID
TL
TV
TNGD
TD
TF
TP
TFIN
TAGS
TK
TR
UNSC
UK
UNGA
UN
US
UNHRC
UG
UP
UNMIK
UNHCR
UE
USTR
UNVIE
UAE
UZ
UY
UNO
UNESCO
USEU
USOAS
UV
UNODC
UNCHS
UNFICYP
UNEP
UNIDROIT
UNDESCO
UNDP
UNPUOS
UNC
UNAUS
USUN
UNCHC
UNCHR
UNCND
UNICEF
UNCSD
UNDC
USNC
USPS
USAID
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09WELLINGTON112, NEW ZEALAND'S FOREIGN MINISTER ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN AID
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09WELLINGTON112.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09WELLINGTON112 | 2009-05-05 05:34 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Wellington |
VZCZCXRO6093
RR RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHWL #0112/01 1250534
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 050534Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5857
INFO RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND 1963
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 5509
RUEHAP/AMEMBASSY APIA 0563
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0841
RUEHKN/AMEMBASSY KOLONIA 0040
RUEHMJ/AMEMBASSY MAJURO 0138
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0847
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0579
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0737
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0528
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0228
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0342
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0084
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0157
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000112
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR STATE FOR EAP/ANP
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID SOCI KDEM PREL NZ
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND'S FOREIGN MINISTER ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN AID
FOCUS
WELLINGTON 00000112 001.2 OF 003
¶1. (SBU) Summary. In a stinging May 1 speech, New Zealand Foreign
Minister Murray McCully signaled a course correction in New
Zealand's aid program. Chief among the National Government's
intended changes is a shift away from poverty alleviation to
developing economic sustainability. McCully also announced that
NZAID would be folded back into MFAT and its aid budget more closely
aligned with GNZ foreign policy goals. McCully's announcements were
met with loud opposition from the Labour Party, NGOs and on-site
protesters who all argued that Government's moves would politicize
aid and adversely affect its delivery. Despite some opposition,
McCully is intent of charting a new course for New Zealand's aid
program. End Summary.
New Zealand's Aid Program to be Overhauled
------------------------------------------
¶2. (SBU) In a May 1 speech to the New Zealand Institute of
International Affairs before an audience of diplomats, academics and
bureaucrats, Foreign Minister Murray McCully stated that New
Zealand's aid program in the Pacific has failed and will be
overhauled. McCully's forceful speech, often delivered with blunt
assessments to strengthen his argument, left few in the audience
unconvinced of the seriousness of the National Government's
intention to change New Zealand's aid program. A full transcript of
the speech can be found at: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech
Aid Budget Increased
--------------------
¶3. (SBU) A central aspect of the McCully's speech was his
announcement that the aid budget will increase to NZD 500 million
for the 2009/10 financial year, rising to NZD 525 million in
2010/11, NZD 550 million in 2011/12 and to NZD 600 million in
2012/13. The 2008-09 aid budget was set at NZD 471.9 million.
McCully also stated that there would be "prudent increases over the
next few years" that would see the aid budget reach NZD 600 million
in 2012/13. McCully readily acknowledged that the announced budget
increase would not match that promised by the previous Labour
government. However, he defended the funding as "realistic and
sustainable in the current global economic situation" and the yearly
increases as "prudent."
McCully Labels Existing Aid Strategy a Failure
--------------------------------------------- -
¶4. (SBU) McCully argued the existing aid strategy has not helped
recipient nations and asserted that the current focus on poverty
alleviation was "too lazy and incoherent" to make the best use of
the funding. Payments, McCully declared, had become "a handout
rather than a hand up." McCully stated that a key objective of the
new aid strategy is to reverse the negative trends in New Zealand's
Pacific neighborhood. He argued that by any objective measurement,
current aid policies have simply not succeeded. NZ's aid dollars,
McCully asserted, have "done little to build sustainable economies
providing employment prospects and the promise of a brighter
future."
New Focus - Pacific Economic Sustainability
-------------------------------------------
¶5. (SBU) McCully announced that the aid mandate would now shift
focus from poverty alleviation to sustainable economic growth with
objective measures such as trade and tourism statistics as
indicators of success. McCully said that priority will be given to
allocating aid in the Pacific region with an aim to improve the
trade capacity of Pacific Island economies. McCully noted that NZ's
billion dollar export trade into the Pacific has been reciprocated
by imports from Pacific nations "so miserly that they should be a
source of national embarrassment."
¶6. (SBU) Presently, the Pacific region gets 53 per cent of New
Zealand's aid. McCully said the region would get "a greater share
WELLINGTON 00000112 002.2 OF 003
of the total aid budget" and that share would be more targeted. He
asserted that too much money was being spent on "unproductive
bureaucracies clipping the ticket, and when aid money was really
needed - such as after the riots in Tonga in 2006, it had been
missing in action." McCully emphasized that "in too many locations
around the Pacific, others from outside the region have moved into
the space that we have unwisely vacated." (Comment: Ministers and
officials have been clear that China is the other power in the
region that most worries them. End Comment.)
NZAID Brought Back into Foreign Ministry
----------------------------------------
¶7. (SBU) McCully announced that NZAID, New Zealand's international
aid agency, will merge back into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (MFAT). After he ordered two reviews into NZAID in March,
McCully now wants to take steps to take more political control of
NZ's aid program. McCully stated the change recognized aid was a
key component of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, "and thus needs to
align, as much as possible, with New Zealand's wider foreign policy
interests." McCully forcefully asserted that aid money was
taxpayers money and "its expenditure should be overseen by elected
office holders able to be held to account at the ballot box -- not
by faceless, unelected, unaccountable aid bureaucrats." He also
expressed concern about aid ending up funding NGO overheads,
administrative costs at NZAID, and being soaked up by bureaucracy.
NZAID's functions and its 200 staff will be folded back into the
operations of the Foreign Ministry, reversing the previous Labour
Government's decision to separate the entities in 2002. McCully
cautioned that it was too early to say what shape structural changes
would take and the timing of any such changes.
Labour Criticize New Aid Direction
----------------------------------
¶8. (SBU) The opposition Labour Party's associate foreign affairs
spokesman Phil Twyford said the Government's aid strategy ran
contrary to what other countries recognized as best practice and it
risks turning aid into a "diplomatic slush fund." Twyford called
the Government's move to take more political control of the aid
program by re-integrating NZAID into MFAT as "tampering in secret."
After the speech, McCully was greeted by protesting students as he
spoke with media. The protesters noisily claimed that McCully was
to trying to corrupt and politicize aid.
NGO Fears Re-Integration Could Impact Aid Delivery
--------------------------------------------- -----
¶9. (SBU) Oxfam's New Zealand executive director Barry Coates
expressed concern at the NZAID re-integration move. Coates fears
that NZ's overseas aid will be at risk of becoming a political tool
and the underlying reason behind the 2002 NZAID-MFAT spill was to
avoid such a possibility. Coates, who is also board chairman of the
Council for International Development, drew attention to reports of
considerable failings of aid delivery when NZAID was previously part
of MFAT. He believes that there will be the very real risk of
potentially reinstating problems that existed until NZAID was
divested from MFAT.
Other Donor Thoughts
--------------------
¶10. A western diplomat who attended McCully's speech questioned the
use of economic indicators as measures of aid effectiveness. The
diplomat expressed concern that economic growth, in particular, is
not a precise determinant of aid effectiveness as it is possible for
a country's per capita GDP to increase with no impact on poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals, the diplomat argued, are superior
underpinning measures of development achievement. (Note: McCully
did not once refer to the Millennium Development Goals in his
speech. End Note). Australian officials were not surprised by the
remarks, as McCully had discussed his views on NZAID with Australian
WELLINGTON 00000112 003.2 OF 003
Ministers as well as the High Commissioner. MFAT wants to pursue
"seamless" aid delivery through NZAID in the Pacific with Australia,
says the High Commission.
Comment
-------
¶11. (SBU) Although some in the audience were surprised at the tone
and substance of McCully's speech, National in opposition had voiced
strong concerns over GNZ aid programs to the Pacific. A more
politically accountable and targeted aid program is a long-held
National Party position. Additionally, National's "hand-up, not
hand-out" approach is a central tenet of the center-right party.
The move to re-integrate NZAID with MFAT is consistent with the
Government's wider program of creating a more efficient and
streamlined public sector. The Government likely has the political
and popular support to modify New Zealand aid program. It is too
early, however, to know how profound these changes will be. End
Comment.
Keegan